GROVE CITY — All last season, Ryan King felt uncomfortable.

Mike Johnson was gone. Kevin Persch was gone. Suddenly, teams that wanted to stop the Grove City High School basketball team focused on stopping him — and it felt strange.

"Last year, I never got used to it," King said. "I never got into the flow, and I never felt comfortable the whole season. I turned the ball over a lot. I forced shots. I was used to the open looks. The guys who were there for two years weren't there anymore."

So, as a senior this year, King focused on just going with the flow.

No longer would he force things. Instead, he would take things as they came.

"I just take the shots that are open," King said.

That approach has been refreshing for the 6-foot-3 forward. Just four games into the season, King said he's feeling good.

He had a lot to feel good about Tuesday night in Titusville.

King scored 17 points to surpass 1,000 in his career. He entered the game thinking he needed eight, but was told just before tip-off that he needed 16.

No matter. He wasn't going to be denied.

"I knew going into the season I would probably get it early in the season," King said. "I'm just glad it is out of the way."

Now King can focus on helping Grove City get back to the playoffs and to avenge three losses to Franklin last season.

The Eagles lost to Franklin twice in the regular season and were routed by Knights in the District 10 championship game.

Grove City then lost a tough state playoff game to Yough.

This season, King wants to forget all about that.

"Hopefully, we can beat Franklin," King said. "That's something we haven't been able to do. And win the district championship game and make a playoff run."

King believes those lofty goals are achievable. His personal goals are a bit more modest.

Numbers matter little to him. He is averaging 13.5 points per game this season, but his biggest source of pride has been his passing.

"I think that's the big noticeable improvement in his game," said Grove City coach Don Fee. "He's finding people and making things better for him and the team."

Fee saw how uncomfortable King was last season and is pleased to see how well he is doing in his senior season.

"He's doing a good job," Fee said. "I know it wasn't easy for him getting double and triple teamed. He's a smart player, and he knows were to find guys to beat those double teams."

King always has been a well-rounded player. He has an outside shooting touch — he has six 3-pointers already this season — and is solid defensively.

"I always think if you are not shooting well, you can always play good defense," King said. "If I'm having an off night, I try to do other things well."

King got a new appreciation for basketball after playing football for the first time this fall.

He and close friend Jesse Alfreno made a pact. If King joined the football team as a wide receiver, Alfreno, the Eagles' quarterback this season, would re-join the basketball team this winter.

Alfreno played basketball during his freshman year.

"He's going through now what I went through during football season," King said.

King caught 10 passes for 140 yards this season, including a 2-point conversion from Alfreno in the final week of the season.

Early in the fall, King suffered a concussion.

"It was my fault," King said. "I tried to make a tackle with my head. After that, it was no more playing defense for me."

Now he's content with wrapping up his basketball career the only way he knows how — as a winner.

"We were struggling, but we needed a game like we had against Titusville," King said of the Eagles' 73-37 win. "Hopefully, we can keep it going."