Northland's King Kendrick ready for Nike Elite 100 camp after Ohio State team camp
As the first week of June came to a close, Northland's King Kendrick got a chance to show his unique skill set to the Ohio State coaching staff.
Before month’s end, he’ll get another chance to do so on a national stage. Kendrick, a point guard in the 2026 class, will participate in the Nike Elite 100 camp to be held June 23-27 in St. Louis, Missouri.
“It feels great,” Kendrick said, standing near the main court at the Jerome Schottenstein Center after having played Massillon Jackson on Friday morning at Ohio State’s team camp. “I have worked hard for the opportunity, so God has given me a lot of opportunities to showcase my ability and how I play. Definitely a blessing to have an opportunity to showcase that at a top camp.”
The 6-0, 160-pound Kendrick is the No. 5 prospect from Ohio in his class according to PrepHoops.com. Rivals.com ranks him as a three-star prospect. Ohio State has a commitment from Garfield Heights' Marcus Johnson, a five-star point guard and the top player from the state in the 2026 class according to 247Sports.com
Since a sophomore season that included a second straight City League championship at Northland, Kendrick said he’s been working on making plays off of two feet and also watching film to learn how teams are guarding him and better be able to break down opposing defenses.
At the top 100 camp, Kendrick said he hopes to showcase the full range of his game.
“I feel like I’m one of the top point guards in the country, so just to showcase that I’m a great point guard, great defender, great leader, great scorer, all of the above,” he said. “Showcase my ability at every level.”
He’ll also get a chance to show off his unique shooting ability. As a child, Kendrick said he started shooting the basketball both left- and right-handed while assuming that eventually one hand would emerge as his more dominant.
Instead, Kendrick has grown into an ambidextrous shooter who writes right-handed but both throws a football and brushes his teeth with either hand.
“A lot of people don’t know how to guard that, so it’s always an advantage on the court,” he said. “Any court I step on, it’s an advantage because nobody’s seen that before or guarded that before. Me switching it up, either hand, nobody is teaching that. It’s an advantage everywhere I go.”
He showed that ability while playing a game that had Ohio State coach Jake Diebler, associate head coach Joel Justus, assistants Talor Battle and Luke Simons and director of recruiting Terence Dials all in the stands watching.
“I think (Diebler) is going to do a great job, and he showed last year at the end of the season,” Kendrick said. “This is his hometown, so obviously Ohio State is always great. I’ve come here so many times it’s like home. It doesn’t even feel like a college gym, it just feels like a regular gym now I’ve been here so many times.”
The Buckeyes have been recruiting him but have not offered a scholarship. Diebler was his primary recruiter when he was Chris Holtmann’s associate head coach and Kendrick said the two still speak, albeit less frequently now that Diebler has more significant job responsibilities as head coach.
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Kendrick holds scholarship offers from Ohio, Kent State, Arizona State, Texas A&M and Dayton. The Flyers are the most recent team to offer him a scholarship, while more high-major schools are showing interest.
“It’s a lot of colleges looking at me right now,” he said. “Missouri, LSU talked to my coach a little bit about me, South Carolina.”
In addition to the top 100 camp, Kendrick said his summer will consist of playing AAU basketball for All-Ohio Red and participating in the Kingdom Summer League, a Columbus pro-am league entering its 10th season.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: King Kendrick ready for Nike Elite 100 camp after Ohio State team camp
