Wright sees big future for King at Villanova

BOSTON – Villanova coach Jay Wright envisions an important role for forward Taylor King with the Wildcats some day.

King, a transfer from Duke, won’t be able to play when the Blue Devils meet Villanova at 9:57 p.m. Thursday because he is sitting out one season in accordance with NCAA rules for transfers.
As a freshman last season for Duke, he averaged 5.5 points in 9.7 minutes per game.

“He will help us,” Wright said during Wednesday’s media session. “He’s a tremendous competitor, outstanding shooter and he loves to play. He’s in the gym all the time. Those kind of guys usually do pretty well for us.”

King did not attend Wednesday’s practice and media session because of class obligations. But Wright expects King to catch a ride to Boston with a friend in time for Thursday night’s game.

Some of King’s former Duke teammates still keep in touch with him. Duke guard Nolan Smith said that after the NCAA bracket was announced on Selection Sunday, King told him he was looking forward to a potential Sweet 16 meeting.

Duke assistant coach Chris Collins said King, who’s a strong 3-point shooter at forward, helped the Blue Devils win some games with his scoring punch off the bench last season.

“Certainly we were disappointed (when he decided to leave),” Collins said. “For him, he wanted a little bigger role and a little different situation, so we tried to help him the best we could in finding Villanova. But there’s no ill will, and we appreciate what he brought to us while he was here.” – Ken Tysiac