Villanova's Taylor King Permanently Released from Team

• reclegend22

  

  Villanova junior Taylor King, who many baselessly speculated had "transformed his game" after leaving Duke, is now team-less after Wildcat coach Jay Wright dismissed King due to a "violation of team rules," according to an ESPN source.
  
  King began his college career at Duke, the 2010 national champion, in fall 2007, before transferring to Villanova in summer 2008.
  
  Looks like the baggage never left Mr. King after all. We can put to rest the "why he left Duke" discussion.
  
  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5312710
• reclegend22

  

  Obviously, none of this is surprising. What is surprising, however, is that from the article, it seems that King has decided to forgo another transfer and remain a student at Nova, thus apparently ending his college basketball career.
  
  I'd say he's about as far away from his 8th grade year as the top player in his class as he could currently be.
• Prescott

  This makes one wonder why the duke staff recruited and signed this guy. Apparently, someone didn't do their homework.
• reclegend22

  

  A kid's true colors are not always evident until he reaches campus. It's just that sometimes physical gifts can hide those blemishes. Just ask OSU with regard to Maurice Clarrett, or Reggie "0.00" Germany.
  
  Unfortunately, King's gifts didn't translate into stardom at the college level and he's seemingly struggled in his personal life because of it.
• Prescott

  A kid's true colors are not always evident until he reaches campus.
  
  Sure they do. The coaches just choose to look the other way. Tressel knew about Clarett's baggage and chose to roll the dice with him. He won in the short run, but lost in the long run.The same could probably be said about Germany.
  
  Face the facts. duke's staff knew all about King's shortcomings, but chose to roll the dice because they thought they needed him. They crapped out.
• Prescott

  A kid's true colors are not always evident until he reaches campus.

  Sure they do.If they don't, they aren't doing their job.
  
  The coaches just choose to look the other way. Tressel knew about Clarett's baggage and chose to roll the dice with him. He won in the short run, but lost in the long run.The same could probably be said about Germany.
  
  Face the facts. duke's staff knew all about King's shortcomings, but chose to roll the dice because they thought they needed him. They crapped out.
• reclegend22

  

  That may be true and it may not be. In the ferocious and high pressure world of recruiting, sometimes there's only so much time to get to truly know a kid. Sometimes you just take a chance on people, believing they are who they present themselves as. Take George O'Leary, for example.
  
  The thing is, King fooled two very good programs. Maybe he has a career in the movies.
• Prescott

  The thing is, King fooled two very good programs.

  We will agree to disagree. King fooled nobody. Either duke didn't do their job or they took chance. Nova took a chance.
• cbus4life

  Well, Kudos to him for staying enrolled at Villanova, maybe he will be able to focus on being a full-time student and get his degree.
• reclegend22

  

  I very much doubt that Duke's staff knew of King's unstoppable love for cigarettes and marijuana (which is believed to be why he was kicked off the Nova team, and a lifestyle that many say surrounded him in Durham). That's something that King's parents probably didn't even know of during his high school days. Let's be real.
  
  Yes, other Duke players have, as kids at every other school, used drugs. J.J. smoked weed in college and everyone knows it. But these issues were addressed and corrected and did not perpetuate as lingering side effects. Unfortunately for Taylor King, he could or would not allow the changes necessary in order to develop as a big conference basketball player. That's where the problem lies. And why I don't believe Duke knew that King was so stuck in his borderline childish/selfish ways. At that, what kid is going to say during a recruiting trip, "By the way, I will be smoking "magic" Camels the duration of my stay. No worries, it does not effect my range."
• SportsAndLady

  

  reclegend22;397544 wrote:I very much doubt that Duke's staff knew of King's unstoppable love for cigarettes and marijuana

  
  2 things.
  
  1) Cigarettes? Is he not 18?
  
  2) When players smoke marijuana every day like I'm sure King does, the staff most definitely know about it. You cannot smoke weed everyday and get away with it, unless someone is covering your ass (in drug tests).
• reclegend22

  

  You cannot compete in ACC basketball smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, as King was, without it affecting your play on the court. Watch King's freshman tapes and you will see how unprepared he really was physically for the conference.
  
  As for the weed, I was speaking of his days in high school. Frequent high school drug tests? I don't think so. As for college drug tests, I don't doubt that it is easier than many think to get away with routine pot use (especially with regard to before and after the season).
• swamisez

  

  Nolan Smith laughing at his image on One Shining Moment was comical. Hope Taylor lands on his feet, sounds like he has had some rough spots. I think all three parties (Duke, Nova, Taylor) will be better off.
• Prescott

  You cannot compete in ACC basketball smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, as King was

  If the athletes featured in this link can do what they do while having a smoking habit, I think an 18 or 19 year old could play basketball in any BCS conference.
  http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he.0804.smoking-pg,0,6941219.photogallery
  
  Do you work at Tommy's mini -mart?? Did King buy his smokes by the pack or the carton? How exactly did you track his cigarette use??
• reclegend22

  

  Believe when I say King had a serious smoking habit. Having worked the Duke camp the summer that King left Duke, I not only heard this from people close to the team (i.e. players and managers) but also from students who lived in King's dorm.
  
  Regardless of the article you searched down for us about athletes who smoke, I could care less about Jon the bodybuilder or Nichole the swimmer. The fact remains, King, coming out of high school, we have learned, was already unprepared physically. He the lacked quickness to play the demanding man-to-man defense Coach K employs. The smoking habit was certainly an added detriment.
  
  But that's really not the point. The main point here is King's unwillingness to implement a change in behavior and attitude, and it is the reason he is now out of basketball. Bye.
• Prescott

  I could care less about Jon the bodybuilder or Nichole the swimmer

  The smoking athletes included marathon runners and tri-athletes. These are disciplines which require conditioning that is at least equal to the conditioning required to play man-to-man defense for any coach at any level..
  
  

  But that's really not the point.

  The real pint is that duke didn't do their homework on King or they knew all about his habits and chose to roll the dice.
• lhslep134

  

  reclegend22;397185 wrote:A kid's true colors are not always evident until he reaches campus. It's just that sometimes physical gifts can hide those blemishes. Just ask OSU with regard to Maurice Clarrett, or Reggie "0.00" Germany.
  
  Unfortunately, King's gifts didn't translate into stardom at the college level and he's seemingly struggled in his personal life because of it.

  
  
  Dawg, it was known for a LONG time the self-centered and "everything should be given to me" attitude that Clarett had. What happened to him shouldn't be surprising at all.
• lhslep134

  

  reclegend22;397843 wrote:\ As for college drug tests, I don't doubt that it is easier than many think to get away with routine pot use (especially with regard to before and after the season).

  
  You're wrong.
  
  2 OSU lacrosse players lived on my floor freshman year and they both failed drug tests (I smoked with them all the time, they assured me that a detox kit would help them pass, not counting on the fact that NCAA drug tests also test for detox kits). One of them got kicked off the team for failing another and eventually left OSU, and the other one still plays.
  
  The NCAA drug tests are very comprehensive and not easily fooled. I would say it's much easier passing a drug test for work than for a college sport. Also, I know that a ton of OSU football players get around the drug tests by smoking synthetic cannabinoids which don't show up instead of smoking real marijuana.
• thedynasty1998

  

  As for the drug tests, they are faily predictable, which is why they can smoke. I think the football team gets tested before camp, before bowl and a few get randoms throughout the year. The only one that is handed over to the NCAA is the one before the bowl game, I believe.
• SportsAndLady

  

  reclegend22;397843 wrote:You cannot compete in ACC basketball smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, as King was, without it affecting your play on the court. Watch King's freshman tapes and you will see how unprepared he really was physically for the conference.
  
  As for the weed, I was speaking of his days in high school. Frequent high school drug tests? I don't think so. As for college drug tests, I don't doubt that it is easier than many think to get away with routine pot use (especially with regard to before and after the season).

  
  Come on Rec...give me a break! An 18 year old kid can smoke cigarettes and not lose a step! All the training, conditioning, and exercising a basketball player at Duke endures far outweighs the negative health effects of smoking cigarettes. Just look at the link Prescott posted, talking about tri-athletes who smoke a pack a day.
  
  And regarding the weed talk, coaches know everything. Maybe not Coach K...but his staff knew King smoked weed in high school. It's not difficult to figure out, and it's not difficult to cover up. I was sitting with a football player once here at Ohio U, and he got a call from one of the coaches and that coach said " are you gonna pass this NCAA drug test tomorrow" as the kid was smoking weed he responded "obviously, no" and the coach said "ok I'll take care of it"
  
  Obviously I realize this may not happen at every school, but these coaches are getting paid MILLIONS of dollars for their job and these athletes are their assets..when you're in a multi-million dollar occupation, you protect your assets.
• georgemc80

  I will just chalk this up to a kid refusing to conform to the norms of society, no matter how many chances and settings he was given.
• Prescott

  Maybe, King is just a kid who believed all of the accolades he got would lead to an NBA career. When he realized he was not an NBA type plaer, he lost his passion for the game.
  
  It is funny that one poster on this forum was in love with King's stroke and his unlimited range and truly believed King would be an All-American before he left duke.
• reclegend22

  

  King did have a great stroke. Had he really worked at his game and stayed away from his addictions, King could have been a star at Duke. I truly believe that. He chose to take another path and his career is now over. Why celebrate that?
  
  As for ACC athletes smoking two packs a day, it certainly doesn't help any causes. I've smoked (albeit nowhere near that much and do no longer) and it can definitely affect your athletic stamina, especially with regard to running in basketball. Duke 2008 was worlds removed from the offense Yoda made famous. It was breakneck and King's inability to keep up was evident. Maybe it had more to do with his reluctance to like work. That could very well be.
  
  Whatever the reason, one thing is certain. King is a quitter. Sad thing to see happen to a kid so talented once upon a time.
• Prescott

  King could have been a star at Duke.

  I don't think so. His physical limitations meant that he would always a role player and never a star. He couldn't defend at duke and he couldn't defend at Nova. He could have been a solid player for duke, but never a star.
  

  King is a quitter

  r
  
  Do you know him?? Do you know his circumstances? How in the hell can you label him a quitter. Maybe, he was forced into basketball and never had a passion for the game. Maybe , he decided to leave the rigors of basketball and concentrate on his education. Don't label people based on innuendo and rumor.
• reclegend22

  

  I can label him a quitter based on the first-hand accounts of King's work ethic from former Duke teammates and team managers. Those aren't rumors. It's reality.