June 3, 2008

The Nova Notebook, by Villanova director of media relations Mike Sheridan, appears weekly during the fall and into the basketball season and periodically from May through August. In this entry we spend time with the newest Villanova Wildcat, Taylor King.

Seated on a pair of sofas facing one another inside the men's basketball locker room at the Davis Center on a late spring afternoon, a few members of the Villanova Wildcats are cooling down after a strenuous workout with strength and conditioning coach Lon Record. Each is drenched in perspiration, with a Gatorade drink in hand.

The newcomer in the group, Taylor King, late of Duke University, is reminded by a team staffer that he has one more task to complete before his afternoon is complete. As he rises dutifully and grabs his basketball shoes, King looks back at new teammates Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson, and asks if they can wait for him so that he might catch a ride with them back to his dormitory room.

Cunningham and Anderson feign incredulous looks before quickly assuring the new kid on the block that they will be there when he returns.

"The thing I've learned about this team," says King, "is that everyone has your back."

It would be entirely accurate to describe Taylor King's path to Villanova as unique. King grew up nearly 3,000 miles from the Main Line, in Southern California, where he rose to prominence at Santa Ana Mater Dei High School. The 3,214 points he put up in his prep career are the fourth most ever scored in the California prep ranks and he was the Golden State's "Mr. Basketball" as a senior in 2006-07. His credentials were such that he was selected as a McDonald's All-American before heading off to Duke as part of one of the nation's most touted crop of freshmen.

Now, after one year in Durham, he is a part of the Villanova basketball family.

"I can't believe I'm here," King states, one week into his first semester of summer school. "It's really exciting for me. I always had Villanova in my sights after I decided to leave Duke. I felt I had a good connection with Coach (Jay) Wright from the beginning."

King understands better than most the nature of college basketball today is more dynamic than ever. Circumstances for athletes can change suddenly, as they did for Malcolm Grant last season at Villanova. Grant transferred to Miami at season's end in large part due to the deep pool of guards at Villanova. He left with no ill will in his wake - indeed Wright praised him for his upbeat demeanor even as his minutes shrank.

Likewise, there is no rancor when King discusses his year at Duke. His respect for the university and basketball program is apparent and he believes he gained something in his time there.

"The biggest thing I learned is to stay positive and focused," he says. "Never get down on yourself. If you don't play one game, you may come back the next and have a big night. It's the way college basketball is today."

Villanova was among those colleges considered by King during his original selection process. In part, that was the outgrowth of a friendship with a close family friend. King's godfather is Rick Horstmann, whose sister Becky is a Villanova graduate married to former `Cat guard and current radio analyst Whitey Rigsby. The Wildcats recruited King and were among those programs he seriously considered before signing with the Blue Devils.

As a Duke newcomer, King had his moments, delivering 27 points in a victory over Eastern Kentucky and averaging 5.5 ppg in 34 appearances. He believes the lessons learned while competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference will benefit him when he takes the floor for the `Cats after sitting out the upcoming campaign per NCAA transfer rules.

"People sometimes don't realize that, really, I'm a sophomore," says the man who has three seasons of eligibility beginning in 2009-10. "I've played a year of college basketball at the highest level. I know what it's like and I think I'm very prepared for it too."

King, who describes himself as a "tremendous competitor", understands that the upcoming basketball season will be a challenge. For the first time in his career, he will be in street clothes when his teammates take the floor on game night. He chooses to view it from a positive direction.

"When you think about it, I'm doing everything the team is doing from now until the middle of October," he says. "There is a six month period there until the beginning of April that I won't be doing that. Once April comes, I'm a part of everything again.

"It's going to be difficult not being able to play. But the knowledge that I am going to be able to help the team next year (2009-10), is what I have my eyes set on. It's probably the most important year for me - working out, getting my body right and getting myself ready to play next year."

At 6-6, King's calling card throughout his career has been a pure shooting stroke that helped him convert .377 of his 3-point field goals last season at Duke. But there are other elements that will make him an asset to the Wildcats.

"I can rebound the ball pretty well for my size," he states. "That's probably one of the biggest attributes that some people don't see in me. I rebounded well in high school. This isn't high school, it's the Big East. But that's something I think I can add."

King is enrolled in summer school and has spent the last week acclimating himself to his surroundings. It hasn't taken him long to feel welcome.

"The biggest thing has been bonding with the guys on the team," he says. "Everyone has been great. We're going to be together a lot in the next few years and I'm just trying to do everything I can to be a part of it.

"The guys play extremely hard and this is a family. The family is the biggest thing. Everybody looks out for each others' backs. No matter who you are, no matter what player you are on the team, everyone has each others' backs. That's all I can say."

Family remains a priority for King. The youngest of four children, he speaks frequently with his parents, Meg and Steve King, and three older sisters (Lindsay, Natalie, and Jacquelyn). In fact, had he not found the right situation at Villanova, he likely would have resumed his college career on the West Coast to be nearer his roots.

"They're my biggest supporters," he says of his family.

While he stays connected to the West Coast, King is absorbing all he can about his new home in the Philadelphia area. He says it wasn't long into his visit to campus in late April before he became certain he had found the proper spot to complete his college education.

"This was the only visit I took," he says. "I had a breakfast on Sunday morning and I told the coaches, `I want in. I want this. I want all of it. I'm willing to do whatever it takes.' So I am very, very excited about this."

Consider King now officially in.