Chances are if you live in Redlands you have seen Kim Aiken grow before your eyes. That is if you knew what you were looking for.
Aiken has had the same summer routine since he was in eighth grade, rising early and making the 10-minute walk from his house to the local YMCA gym, dribbling a basketball the entire way.
Once at the gym Aiken puts himself through a series of workouts and shooting drills for the next several hours. For four summers he has done this and the improvements keep coming for the junior forward at Redlands East Valley, who came a long way to become one of the city’ top players.
Aiken was born and spent the first part of his life in Long Beach, starting out following his father’s footsteps as a football player. But he quickly realized this was not the sport for him.
“All my friends played football so I wanted to play,” says Aiken. “But I never wanted to get hit. Soon basketball became my focus. I used to watch old NBA film of guys like Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson.”
His height allowed Aiken to play against older kids on the local playgrounds in Long Beach, kids that offered him encouragement to continue with basketball.
Then during sixth grade everything changed for Aiken.
All he remembers was one day getting in the car with his father, falling asleep and waking up in Redlands, a city that was foreign to him.
“I didn’t know we were leaving. I woke up in this small city and I asked (my dad) where are we and he said, ‘We live here now,’” says Aiken.
The truth was the family, Aiken and his father Kim Aiken Sr., was in a dire situation in Long Beach. The two were homeless for a stretch, moving from place to place, staying with friends and relatives where they could, stuck in areas with known violence.
Aiken Sr. knew he had to get his son out of this environment.
“We wanted to get out of the area,” says Aiken Sr. “There were opportunities out here.”
The move turned out to be the right one, as Aiken, who lives with his father, has blossomed into a standout student – he boasts a 3.3 GPA – and one of the city’s best players.
That potential the kids in Long Beach saw on the courts showed up immediately his freshman season when he averaged 18.7 points per game for the freshman team. It also helped that Aiken kept growing: he stood 6 foot in sixth grade, 6-3 in eighth grade and reached 6-6 this year. The doctors expect him to grow a little more.
“Teachers and classmates were always asking me to get stuff off the top shelf,” says Aiken with a laugh.
But his sophomore season of 2014-15 was the true breakout season for Aiken, who became a varsity starter, earning valuable experience as the youngest starter on team stocked with seven seniors.
Aiken turned into the Wildcats’ third scoring option with 12.6 points per game and the clear-cut top rebounder on the team at 9.9 per game. The next highest rebound average was 4.3.
That team finished third in the Citrus Belt League but caught fire in the postseason, advancing all the way to the CIF-SS Division 2A championship game against Compton at the Honda Center. The Tarbabes were too much for the Wildcats, dominating the game for a 63-48 win.
Aiken finished with six points, two rebounds and a stinging loss he still holds on to and apologizes for.
“I didn’t want to mess anything up as a young guy that season. I told the seniors I won’t let you guys down,” says Aiken. “We didn’t win CBL but we had a great run. I’m really sorry for that loss. I was young, inexperienced in a big arena like that.”
“It was very tough and emotional for him. He did a lot of wonderful things that year. He took those losses very hard though,” says Aiken Sr. “He takes them all hard. He doesn’t like to lose.”
Aiken used that during his summer workouts, knowing he would be the lone returning starter and in for a bigger role this season. And so far the junior Aiken, along with senior Brett Vansant, have taken the reins as the Wildcat’s top scoring threats.
Aiken has become a double-double machine – 12 in 17 games – this season with 17.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.
He had a 17-point, 21-rebound effort in the season opener and has twice notched 30-plus scoring totals.
However, the draw of Aiken, who is rarely not smiling, is his impact off the court as well.
“He’s a very good basketball player, but what I’ve come to know about him is that he is a throwback, polite young man. He’s very focused on getting to a four-year college,” says REV head coach Bill Berich. “I enjoy his basketball, he helps me win basketball games, but I enjoy him just as much off the court.
“I have not met an adult that doesn’t love Kim,” he adds with a smile.
The goal for Aiken, who started AAU last summer, is to play at the next level, at Division I.
His trajectory is leaning towards that with improved shooting ability, several inches to potentially added to his frame, the grades and of course the work ethic.
“You can see the growth. You see all the hard work he’s put in,” says Aiken Sr. “But that’s just the start, he’s not done yet.”
Kim Aiken
Redlands East Valley
Year: Junior
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 210
PPG: 17.4
RPG: 12.4
