Taylor King

[Bluedawg]

Most people seem to think that Taylor will have a minor role on the team this year, but I strongly disagree. i think he will have a major impact on the team and on the ACC.

“Jerry Wainwright, who coached him in the under-18 tryouts, told me he’s like a stick of dynamite – you put him in the game and he can explode for 12 straight points,” Wojciechowski said. “Because of the way he can shoot the ball, he’s going to be on the court – maybe not as a starter, maybe not for 30 minutes a game, but, darn, if you don’t put him in the game ...”

King expects to contribute on the offensive boards and to defend, whether it’s in the post or on the wing. But he doesn’t hesitate when asked his top priority.

“Making sure I’m consistent with my jump shot,” he said. “Coach K recruited me to shoot the ball. And to play defense and to rebound. That’s what I’m going to do.” [source]

[Classof06]

To be honest, I have no idea how big or small Taylor's contribution is going to be. I do think he's going to get the minutes to make a contribution, though.

If we struggle as a team shooting from the perimeter (given our perceived weakness in the post, teams may pressure us on the perimeter a little bit more), you have to believe King will get the green light. The bottom line is that much of Duke's success will be contigent upon how they shoot the ball from the perimeter. From what I hear, it's already pretty clear that he's the best perimeter shooter on the team. That counts for something.

I also think, despite being 6-6/6-7, King is a solid rebounder and post defender. These are things that will ultimately get him on the floor. If Lance continues to struggle with foul trouble, which may happen early in the season particularly, those minutes go directly to King. The bottom line is that he is a semi-big body and this year, that counts for something.

Now King's minutes may be limited depending on how quickly McClure comes back from knee surgery, and McClure will get his minutes, but he just doesn't bring the kind of offensive threat that King does.

[mgtr]

Well, if the plan is indeed to play a much more uptempo game, get the ball up the floor quickly, and then spread the floor -- I would guess that the starters' minutes will be down some, and there will time for everybody. Promises to be interesting.

[greybeard]

In my opinion, to be effective, an offense must threaten the basket. Only three ways to do that. Get the ball to an interior player who can shoot off the catch or one, maybe a second, bounce; pass it to a cutting player who ditto; penetrate to the basket off the dribble.

Unless the basket is threatened, and I mean seriously, an "outside" game will be ineffective. I think there will be an interior player by committee that will be integral to what this team does and that play will be more consistent and perhaps more potent than last year's interior play.

[Indoor66]

In my opinion, to be effective, an offense must threaten the basket. Only three ways to do that. Get the ball to an interior player who can shoot off the catch or one, maybe a second, bounce; pass it to a cutting player who ditto; penetrate to the basket off the dribble.

Unless the basket is threatened, and I mean seriously, an "outside" game will be ineffective. I think there will be an interior player by committee that will be integral to what this team does and that play will be more consistent and perhaps more potent than last year's interior play.

I agree. Most successful teams I have seen work inside out on offense. Without an inside threat all other offensive patterns, whether driving and attempting to dish or outside shooting become very defensible. With an inside threat the other players are able to stretch the defense to the point that the outside and driving threats become, with reasonable passing, almost indefensible.

[crote]

I base this solely on his high school numbers, some AAU games from summer before last, and five minutes I caught of his team in a televised game last year, but King seems like a serious, serious rebounder. Last year, King averaged better than 12 rebounds a game. He had individual games with 14 or more boards on fourteen occasions, including outings where he pulled down 20 and 24 boards. I realize there's a big difference between high school and college, but those are still very strong numbers.

When you factor that in with his range and the fact that he's one of the bigger guys on a very small team, you'd have to think K would find SOME regular role for him, provided he plays decent D.

[Ignatius07]

A couple of months ago I thought that King would not see any minutes this year. Now I am thinking it's probably going to be feast or famine with him. That is, some games he won't come in at all, but the games he does play in will probably net him ~10 minutes.

If the other team is playing a 4 like Singler - who is able to play inside and out - King will simply be too much of a defensive liability because he is so slow. Remember how slow Paulus looked at times last year? King is slower. I realize Paulus was playing against guards, but I envision King getting burned in anything but defending the post.

But if the other team players a more traditional big at the 2nd big position who is not super quick, I think we might see King get a chance to prove his worth as a shooter and rebounder.

[Carlos]

In my opinion, to be effective, an offense must threaten the basket. Only three ways to do that. Get the ball to an interior player who can shoot off the catch or one, maybe a second, bounce; pass it to a cutting player who ditto; penetrate to the basket off the dribble.

Unless the basket is threatened, and I mean seriously, an "outside" game will be ineffective. I think there will be an interior player by committee that will be integral to what this team does and that play will be more consistent and perhaps more potent than last year's interior play.

It's all yin and yang here. The only way Duke will threaten the basket consistently this year will be off the latter of your options - driving to the hoop. Fortunately Duke has a few guys (Henderson, Nelson, and Smith) who are pretty strong in that regard. Their ability to finish will be greatly aided by the absence of any defensive post players who will likely have to honor Duke's "inside" players who won't actually be inside.

That's why I agree that King will be a great weapon for Duke. When he's on the floor he's going to demand attention out at the 3-pt line which means that the other team's PF is going to spend a lot of time chasing him around away from the basket. Ditto for Singler. So picture Henderson or Nelson driving to the hoop and the other defenders are left with the option of helping out and leaving King, Singler, or Paulus open on the outside.

The other side of this is that Nelson, who has struggled to finish near the hoop should be much more successful if he's not trying to power over 6-9 guys - something that he's attempted without much success frequently in the past.

[duketaylor]

Picture this scenario: On the offense, Singler has the ball at the high post, King's running off screens, cutting thru the lane, just being a pain to keep up with in general, and they are playing the 4 and 5 positions, thus leaving no bigs inside to guard the basket. Markie, Gerald and Nolan can all break their man down off the dribble. Somebody's gotta guard Kyle who can also penetrate or shoot the 3, so if the opposition guards Kyle outside (mistake, IMO) he creates for himself, if the big comes out just cut guys thru the lane with the motion O. Just a thought.
Coaches Clinic is today, I'll have a report up tonight or tomorrow.

[ACCBBallFan]

Picture this scenario: On the offense, Singler has the ball at the high post, King's running off screens, cutting thru the lane, just being a pain to keep up with in general, and they are playing the 4 and 5 positions, thus leaving no bigs inside to guard the basket. Markie, Gerald and Nolan can all break their man down off the dribble. Somebody's gotta guard Kyle who can also penetrate or shoot the 3, so if the opposition guards Kyle outside (mistake, IMO) he creates for himself, if the big comes out just cut guys thru the lane with the motion O. Just a thought.
Coaches Clinic is today, I'll have a report up tonight or tomorrow.

Looking forward to your report, Chuck, especially since I had thought you were going to have to work and miss the coaches clinic.

[duketaylor]

my good friend who's a HS coach and AAU coach goes every year and will fill me in. When I speak with him I will pass his observations along. He is way more knowledgable than I.

[Bluedawg]

What we missed last year was a guaranteed last minute shot. I think King gives us that.

[pfrduke]

What we missed last year was a guaranteed last minute shot. I think King gives us that.

Nobody can give us a "guaranteed" last minute shot. It's also tough to say that King gives us this when we don't know whether he can get himself open (or the team can get him open) to get off a shot at the end of the game. I think we have a long way to go before Taylor King is the go to guy for a last minute game winning kind of score.

[riverside6]

I found this report on the coaches clinic, which also includes a little video.

[Cameron]

I think we have a long way to go before Taylor King is the go to guy for a last minute game winning kind of score.

I am a HUGE King Taylor fan already, and he's yet to play a true scrimmage against a real team. But I would tend to agree with the above sentence. He's going to have to first prove his worth during regular minutes, which I certainly think he will, before we know if he's the next Reggie Miller or not.

I think we are going to find that Greg will be one of our top go to three-ball shooters this season if we do in fact need one down the stretch. His shot just continues to get better and better and, even towards the end of last season, whenever he was pulling up for a decent look on a three, I usually booked it in my mind. He's an excellent shooter. I think he'll be tough as nails this season and make a ton of big shots for us.

Now his ball handling is a different issue... Let's just hope for good things.

[OrangeDevil]

Guys, I live in Orange County, California (hence the tag OrangeDevil) and have seen Taylor King play (once in the flesh and several times on tv). His reputation as a shooter is well deserved; a smooth, confident stroke with mega-range. But he is also keen to post up and play with his back to the basket. I would suggest that he may be more of a scorer than a mere shooter. Loves to go to the line. The principal questions marks would be his handle (not horrendous, but not a strong point) and his defensive quickness. He will probably have matchup problems with quicker three's (what I see his natural position) on the perimeter, but he's certainly strong enough to handle many four's inside. He'll be a four year player and a definite asset.

While on the subject, his high school team (Mater Dei in Santa Ana) has two seniors, 6-9 twins David and Travis Wear, who are reported interested in Duke and UNC among others. Both are athletic, but last year were very thin and were not primary options to score (King was options 1,2,3 or so it seemed, he was that dependable) so I can't give you a more definitive report.

We still need a more dominant low post presence, but the three freshmen give us solid continuity for the next several seasons.

[JasonEvans]

While on the subject, his high school team (Mater Dei in Santa Ana) has two seniors, 6-9 twins David and Travis Wear, who are reported interested in Duke and UNC among others. Both are athletic, but last year were very thin and were not primary options to score (King was options 1,2,3 or so it seemed, he was that dependable) so I can't give you a more definitive report.

While Duke showed some interest in the Wear twins a while ago, I think we have backed off quite a bit and are not really involved with them at this time.

I think Arizona and UCLA are supposed to be the leaders there, though Carolina and Kansas are both very much in the mix. The Wear twins were in Chapel Hill for Midnight Madness or whatever they call it at UNC.

--Jason "I wish we were involved, we do need some big bodies in the 2009 class" Evans

[dukestheheat]

pfrduke-

you assert that we might not be able to rely on King for a last minute shot for a win; why do you think that?

((my point is: the guy can shoot it and that's what he's hired to do)).

dth.

[Bluedawg]

Nobody can give us a "guaranteed" last minute shot. It's also tough to say that King gives us this when we don't know whether he can get himself open (or the team can get him open) to get off a shot at the end of the game. I think we have a long way to go before Taylor King is the go to guy for a last minute game winning kind of score.

I've seen him shoot, so i disagree with your final statement. Also, how many games last year did the final shot come up short. I think King will fix that.

[Clipsfan]

I've seen him shoot, so i disagree with your final statement. Also, how many games last year did the final shot come up short. I think King will fix that.

I'm guessing that the belief isn't whether King has the range to shoot the ball, but whether he has the speed/moves to get open to take the shot. JJ was faster than King, but couldn't get off last second shots against tough athletic forwards (think Memphis). King may have similar problems when the defense is really dialed in (e.g. the last possession). I'd think that he'll find his chances during the normal flow of the game.