Pitt F Liatu King Finds New Home

Former Pitt Panthers star F Liatu King announced her transfer to Notre Dame.

Oct 24, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pittsburgh player Liatu King during the ACC Women s Tipoff at / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- Former Pitt Panthers forward Liatu King found her new home to end out her collegiate career in Notre Dame.

King committed to Pitt as a member of the Class of 2020, starring for Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md.

The Washington, D.C. native would spend four seasons with the program, playing in 107 games, starting 70, while averaging 24.5 minutes, 10.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 1.1 steals and 1.2 assists per game, respectively, while shooting 46.8% from the floor and 66.3% from the foul line.

King showed moments of talent and strength in her first three seasons at Pitt under head coach Lance White, but his inconsistent substitution patters never allowed her to build rhythm and it showed in her game, which was also inconsistent.

Tory Verdi took over as Pitt head coach last season, putting the ball in King's hands and allowing her to flourish as the main focal point of the offense. The result was that King played as one of the best forwards in the ACC and the country.

The 6-foot post player started all 32 games last season, averaging 35.4 minutes, 18,7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, respectively, while making 52.3% of her shots from the field and 71.1% of her free throw attempts, all marks career-highs for her.

Her 18 double-doubles she had were the most in a season by a Panther in program history. She is also the first Panther to average a double-double since forward Jennifer Bruce did so 40 years prior in 1983-84.

She scored 598 points, grabbed 329 rebounds and made 58 blocks, ranking third, second and most in program history as a senior, respectively.

King finished second in rebounds, third in blocks, fourth in field goal percentage, fifth in scoring and seventh in steals in the ACC last season, respectively, earning her First Team All-ACC honors and the ACC Most Improved Player Award.

She was the second Pitt player to earn All-ACC honors, joining guard Brianna Kiesel in 2015, and the first to earn an individual major ACC honor.

Thanks to the extra COVID-19 year, King has one last year to play, despite not redshirting. Playing with Notre Dame should give her a chance to finally make an NCAA Tournament.

King is one of four players to transfer from the program after the end of the season, joining forwards Gabby Hutcherson and Rapuluchi Ayodele, as well as guard Jasmine Timmerson. Hutcherson recently transferred to Duquesne.

Verdi recently went into the transfer portal to land some post players in MaKayla Elmore from Clemson and Khadija Faye from Texas. The other forwards on the Panthers include graduate student Ioanna Chatzileonti, sophomore Lauren Rust and incoming freshman Kiara Williams.

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