King and 'Nova
Duke transfer Taylor King gave a commitment to Villanova over the weekend, which I find curious (if not predictable) given the comments of his father, Steve, a week earlier.
I know UCLA's coaching staff was in contact with King's people, but I don't know if King and UCLA coach Ben Howland ever spoke. As of late last week, the two had not.
However, the part I find strange is King's father was saying how Taylor wanted to take his time, because one decision already went awry, and this was Taylor's one do-over. So to decide on Villanova before even taking trips to Gonzaga or USC was, to say the least, curious in my opinion.
I will say that one of the things Steve King told me was he wanted to go to a place where it was understood Taylor may have some defensive shortcomings, but that the his offensive exploits could be maximized.
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About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
That is very interesting to me as well. I thought he would most likely transfer to Gonzaga. The Big East plays rough (or at least that is their reputation) so being soft on D doesn't really seem to be a good fit for him. How's a pretty boy from the OC going to adjust to life in rough and ragged Philly?
It's such a good thing that King did not come to UCLA.
He would have clashed with Howland (No D) and he would have not been able to just jack up shots.
He should have gone to a Pepperdine where he could become the star and be able to put up huge numbers.
AW