The summer is coming to a close, and King Gibson's recruitment is taking shape. The 6-foot-4 combo guard out of SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, and Team United ranks as the No. 7 overall recruit in the 2027 class. While in Las Vegas for the EYBL, Gibson spoke with 247Sports after coaches lined the sidelines to get their final viewings of the five-star prospect before his recruitment ramps up.
"It's been great," Gibson said of his recruitment. "A lot of coaches are contacting me now. I'm starting to follow different coaches, and a lot of coaches are starting to follow me. So it's just about keeping in contact and building those relationships."
Gibson has heard from schools across the country throughout his career, with several new programs getting involved this spring. His recruitment is now taking clearer shape as he feels prioritized by a handful of high-major programs.
"There are definitely a couple of schools that are really prioritizing me — Arkansas, Louisville (I've talked to them a lot lately), NC State, LSU, Baylor (I've talked to them a lot), UConn and I still talk to Michigan," he said. "There are a lot of schools I'm talking to regularly right now. My phone is going crazy."
Gibson has yet to schedule any official visits, but that is expected to change in the coming weeks.
"I'm definitely going to take visits to most of the schools I just named," he said. "I definitely want to get to UConn and see the campus. I want to see Arkansas' campus, too. I've already been to NC State's campus — it's near my hometown — and I definitely want to get back there. I want to see LSU and a few others as well."
Gibson also offered thoughts on several programs with which he's been in frequent contact:
ARKANSAS
"Great people, great coach that has developed a lot of guards. Having a lot of guards go to the League is eye-opening for me because I'm a guard and I want to go to the NBA, too. Just having that dream, it's great to have (coach John) Cal(ipari) on the line."
UCONN
"I love UConn. It's a gritty style of play — definitely my play style — and he's definitely a personality guy. We talk on the phone, so we're just keeping the relationship going. I think it'll be great."
LOUISVILLE
"It's been a lot because they're talking about Mikel Brown a lot — how he came there, developed, and how he's going to the NBA with big strides. I've been talking to them for a long time now. I haven't been able to get on campus yet, but the relationship is still growing. We're just going to keep talking."
MICHIGAN
"We've just been talking and keeping relationships with the assistant coaches. I talk to the assistants a lot. They have some people from North Carolina, too. They've just been telling me to keep going — nothing about the coaching change or anything like that. I think they're still figuring things out, but they said to just keep going and they'll stay in touch."
NC STATE
"They're bringing in a lot of different assistant coaches that I've talked to in the past. I talked to coach (Justin) Gainey when he was at Tennessee, too, so I already had that relationship with him. Now that he's at NC State, which is right up the street — about an hour from my house — that's a great relationship to have with people so close to home."
Gibson does not have a specific timeframe for a decision but plans to cut his list this fall, he said.