King of Their Draft, but Who Is This Guy? : Lakers: He’s a high-scoring guard from Western Carolina who is being compared to veteran Sedale Threatt.

Meet the Laker draft class of ‘95: He is unknown, and not only to fans, having been scouted only in a postseason all-star tournament in Portsmouth, Va.

Most recently, he was playing in a summer league in Sacramento. He visited only two teams--Miami and Portland. He did not even expect to get picked.

Rip Van Winkle wasn’t as much of a sleeper as Frankie King, but Wednesday, the Lakers used their only pick, No. 37 overall, on the Western Carolina guard and compared him to a young Sedale Threatt, whom he will try to replace.

“I was very excited,” said King, the nation’s second-leading scorer as a senior, at 26.5 points a game. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be drafted. I didn’t think I would because I didn’t even have the chance to play in front of other scouts after Portsmouth.

“I thought my chances were next to nothing.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers were coveting him from afar, not even bringing him to town for a workout so as not to let anyone know they were intrigued. Tuesday, they traded two 1997 second-round picks to Washington for No. 37 with the intention of taking King. Wednesday, the patience of Executive Vice President Jerry West paid off.

“Jerry’s very excited about the pick, and that’s a good sign,” Coach Del Harris said.

“I don’t know Frankie King, but I know Jerry West. That’s good enough.”

King, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder, played primarily shooting guard at Western Carolina, but says he is comfortable at the point.

The Lakers are counting on that confidence--and that versatility--because Threatt is coming off a season that included two significant injuries and will be 34 by training camp.

That’s why they have made finding a dependable backup for Nick Van Exel one of the priorities of the summer.

Also Wednesday, the Lakers announced assistant coach Larry Drew has signed a contract extension.