American point guard Demaree King has arrived at French basketball club Union Tarbes-Lourdes to complete the team roster ahead of the new season.
The 1.82-metre player landed at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport earlier this week after flying from Oklahoma City, where members of the club coaching staff met him upon arrival.
King, who was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, signed with the French team in late July. He had been expected in Bigorre, a historical region in southwestern France at the foot of the Pyrenees, to finalize preparations for the upcoming campaign.
Union Tarbes-Lourdes Pyrenees Basket competes in Nationale Masculine 1, the third division of the French professional basketball league system. The club represents the neighboring towns of Tarbes and Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrenees department, playing its home games at the Palais des Sports du Quai de l'Adour in Tarbes.
College career and shooting records
King brings a strong reputation as an elite perimeter shooter and playmaker. He began his collegiate career at Northern Oklahoma Junior College, where he averaged 19.5 points, 4.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range.
Following his junior college stint, King transferred to Jacksonville State University in Alabama, competing for three seasons in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association within the ASUN Conference.
During his first year at Jacksonville State in the 2020-21 season, King averaged 6.4 points in 20 minutes per game. He made a major breakthrough in the 2021-22 season, averaging 10.5 points and making 45.2 percent of his three-point attempts, which ranked as the second-highest percentage in the entire United States. He set a single-season school record with 84 made three-pointers that year, helping Jacksonville State win the ASUN tournament title and earn a spot in the NCAA March Madness tournament.
In his final college season in 2022-23, King averaged 15.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 35 minutes per game while breaking his own school record with 103 three-pointers. He finished his college career with 231 three-pointers, establishing an all-time Division I record for Jacksonville State. In his final two university games, he scored a combined 64 points and made 17 three-pointers, earning the ASUN Player of the Week award.
Professional experience in Georgia
After graduating from college, King launched his professional career in Europe by signing in the Georgian Superleague. During the 2023-24 season with Rustavi, a club based in eastern Georgia, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 35 minutes per game. His campaign included single-game highs of 36 points, featuring 8 three-pointers on 11 attempts, and 12 assists.
He remained in the Georgian top flight for the 2025-26 season with Viktor Sanikidze Academy, averaging 14.5 points, 6.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 32 minutes per game.
Pre-season schedule and squad updates
With King's arrival, Union Tarbes-Lourdes has its full squad available for the remaining pre-season fixtures before the official championship opener on September 18 against Bordeaux in Tarbes.
King is scheduled to join his team on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. for a friendly exhibition match in Toulouse, serving as a rematch of their encounter on August 14.
The American point guard is also expected to make his home debut at the Quai de l'Adour arena in Tarbes during the Pascal-Thibert tournament this weekend.
In addition to King's arrival, Union Tarbes-Lourdes is welcoming back Fabien Ateba, who returned from Tunisia following international duty with Cameroon. Ateba played three qualifying matches for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, recording victories over Nigeria and Tunisia alongside a loss to Guinea. Cameroon currently holds first place in its qualifying group, though the standings remain tightly contested before the next round of fixtures in late February 2027.
Pascal-Thibert tournament schedule
The weekend tournament at the Quai de l'Adour will feature Fos-sur-Mer, a club recently promoted to the French second division Elite 2 following the administrative demotion of AS Monaco to Group A of Nationale Masculine 1.
Tournament action begins on Saturday, September 5, with Challans facing Fos at 5:00 p.m., followed by Union Tarbes-Lourdes playing Salon at 8:00 p.m.
On Sunday, September 6, the third-place playoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., followed by the tournament final at 5:00 p.m. Admission to the venue is free for all spectators.
