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Jesse King hopes to rein in NLL’s newest city

The Georgia Swarm loaded up on offensive talent in Monday night’s National Lacrosse League draft, including Victoria’s own Jesse King, who was selected No. 3 overall. “It’s exciting just to be drafted.
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VictoriaÕs Jesse King was taken No. 3 overall by the Swarm.

The Georgia Swarm loaded up on offensive talent in Monday night’s National Lacrosse League draft, including Victoria’s own Jesse King, who was selected No. 3 overall.

“It’s exciting just to be drafted. It’s like a dream come true and this is something I’ve really dreamt about since I was five, six or seven,” King said Tuesday from Ohio State University where the Mann Cup-champion Victoria Shamrocks’ young star is finishing his degree.

“There are a lot of young guys there,” he added of the Swarm’s selections, which included No. 1 overall pick Lyle Thompson (who joins his brother Miles in Georgia). The Swarm also chose transition player Chad Tutton and forward Randy Staats fifth and sixth, respectively.

“I played against the likes of Chad and Staats and everyone recognizes the Thompson brothers — especially in this next generation of lacrosse,” King said of his new NLL teammates.

Ohio State teammates Turner Evans (10th overall to Toronto) and Georgia native Rick Lewis (the 50th pick by the Swarm) were also selected, which made King that much happier.

The Swarm — which just moved to Georgia from Minnesota — will play out of The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, which is located 25 minutes northeast of Atlanta.

“I’ve never been to that area, but I’ve been to Athens and I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. Some of the guys have already reached out to me and it will be a great experience, and I can’t wait to go,” said King.

“I want to do as much as I can. I’ll do whatever I’m asked, be it go into the corner, pick up loose balls or just being that sparkplug and putting the ball in the back of that net when the opportunity arises.”

And it sounds like he’ll get plenty of opportunities as King is well known for his scoring prowess.

Besides his success with the Senior and Junior Victoria Shamrocks, the six-foot-three, 200-pound lefty is the graduating captain at Ohio State where he led the Buckeyes in all major scoring categories — points (77), goals (42) and assists (35) — last season.

The 77 points were the most in the program since 1979 and, according to the school, King posted a career-high nine points this past spring in the NCAA quarter-finals against the eventual champions from Denver.

In four years with the Buckeyes the 23-year-old ranked fourth all-time with 208 points and 119 goals and first in game-winning goals (seven). King was also a three-time USILA All-American and Tewaaraton Trophy finalist.

“Jesse is a big left-handed scorer who can also pass the ball,” Swarm owner and general manager John Arlotta said in a statement. “They rarely come along at this level in the draft. Jesse is one of those players who is a difference-maker. He was a great player at Ohio State and his box lacrosse credentials are incredible.”

“He’s going to be a very important player for them right off the bat,” suggested Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes. “He’s quick, he’s big, he’s fast and he has a great skill-set, and he just won the Mann Cup.

“All this will be nothing new to him. He will be an impact player in the NLL. He went third overall, but he could have gone first. Thompson is a name player though and they would have had a hard time explaining why they didn’t pick him, but that’s how you build a team,” added Heyes.

mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com