Thanks for Taylor King

[WildcatFan]

Sorry he didn't work out for you guys, but we are happy to have him. He fits in nicely and came up big for us last night (missed dunk notwithstanding).

By the way, out of curiosity I browsed the in-game thread here from the NCAAs last year and found the discussion of the Nova game to be perceptive and very classy, although that was surely a frustrating moment around here.

WildcatFan in NYC

[juise]

If you can take the 5-17's with the 7-15's, you'll enjoy having him. Congrats on the win over your (3-5 :p) rival.


(Mods, this should probably be moved to the "transfer" thread.)

[BlueintheFace]

defense and work ethic... (shaking head). I'm glad he's found a place where he can fit in.

[JasonEvans]

I don't think any Duke fan doubted that Taylor would have big games wherever he played. The problem was he never really bought into what was required to play here.

We wish him luck... so long as he is not playing us ;)

--Jason "he'll score a lot of points for Nova, of that I am confident" Evans

[dukelifer]

Sorry he didn't work out for you guys, but we are happy to have him. He fits in nicely and came up big for us last night (missed dunk notwithstanding).

By the way, out of curiosity I browsed the in-game thread here from the NCAAs last year and found the discussion of the Nova game to be perceptive and very classy, although that was surely a frustrating moment around here.

WildcatFan in NYC

King always showed promise. He is now a full year removed from the program at Duke and I am sure he has improved simply due to time. Had he stayed at Duke - he would have also gotten better. King was a highly recruited and regarded player out of high school and is now showing glimpses of what he can do.

[DevilHorns]

In all honesty, I dont think King would fit well with our current team (that is if Dawkins will remain this year given the unfortunate circumstances). I rather have Dawkins get the experience off the bench as our 3 point threat. I think the minutes our underclassmen get now will pay great dividends in the future.

Im glad King is doing will at Nova, but IMO, he remains what he is, mediocre to average defense, no ability to put the rock on the floor, with limitless range to launch 3s.

[airowe]

Sorry he didn't work out for you guys, but we are happy to have him. He fits in nicely and came up big for us last night (missed dunk notwithstanding).

By the way, out of curiosity I browsed the in-game thread here from the NCAAs last year and found the discussion of the Nova game to be perceptive and very classy, although that was surely a frustrating moment around here.

WildcatFan in NYC

We wish him well also. You guys have a great program up there and a great coach. I'm sorry though about the Duke curse hitting your team. Redding and Yarou were direct results of beating Duke in the tourney...

If you don't know about the curse:

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=27396

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=30690

[WildcatFan]

Congrats on the win over your (3-5 :p) rival.

Heh. Yeah, but Big Five games are special, and often much closer than they should be on paper.


defense and work ethic... (shaking head).

I think we're seeing a maturation in process. At least I hope so.


We wish him well also. You guys have a great program up there and a great coach. I'm sorry though about the Duke curse hitting your team. Redding and Yarou were direct results of beating Duke in the tourney...

Ouch! No-one warned us about this...:eek:
And thanks.

[Tim1515]

There was an article a while ago...i think posted on rivals...where King made a comment about having to play defense in order to get off the bench. That is basically what K was telling him at Duke...unfortunately it took a transfer for him to realize it.

He looks to be in better shape...seemed much more athletic then during his freshman year at Duke. He'll give Nova good minutes...had he put the same effort in at Duke he would've give us good minutes this year too.

[greybeard]

I didn't catch too much of the game, but saw enough of Taylor to say that he impressed the heck out of me. Tremendously strong for a 3. If he picks up on the bounce game from the guys around him, look out. Nice to see the kid doing so well!

[Bob Green]

I'm really glad Taylor King is getting off to a solid start at Villanova. I was happy when he came to Duke and disappointed when he transferred. Hopefully, he continues to work hard and prosper at Villanova.

[wallyman]

I've seen him play several times this year, and he impresses the heck out of me. Yes, he didn't do everything right as a freshman. Not the first time. Anyone with his size who can shoot like that can be a huge asset. For those not drinking the dark blue Kool Aid straight, it's hard not to think we screwed up in letting him get away.

[AtlDuke72]

I didn't catch too much of the game, but saw enough of Taylor to say that he impressed the heck out of me. Tremendously strong for a 3. If he picks up on the bounce game from the guys around him, look out. Nice to see the kid doing so well!

I agree. He looked to be in much better shape and really had an all round game. Those that are critical of him were not watching last night. I hope he continues to do well. Too bad he had to leave to figure it out.

[Jim3k]

For those not drinking the dark blue Kool Aid straight, it's hard not to think we screwed up in letting him get away.

Maybe...But his mental maturity rate was a bit slow. He did not understand that Coach K was serious about defense first. To some extent he resented that demand, thinking his shooting (which was more erratic than anyone expected, including himself) would carry him through.

So he made it hard on himself. With the transfer came a maturation process, as well as Coach Wright's identical requirement for defense first, which allowed him to accept and internalize what he was being taught. Two good coaches saying the same thing, providing the same penalty for not following instructions, no doubt had a salutary effect. Too bad he didn't take the message to heart the first time he heard it.

But, as Coach K points out, each player has his own race to run. If he succeeds at 'Nova, all of us will happily accept it, only slightly regretting his success was not at Duke. He's a good kid and we'd all like him to succeed.

[SilkyJ]

We wish him well also. You guys have a great program up there and a great coach.

The same great coach who bought wayne ellington and gerald henderson their junior prom limo?

Jay Wright isn't spic and span, folks.

[SeattleIrish]

Thanks, Wildcat.

Taylor seemed to be a good kid, and someone I'd love to see have a great college career.

s.i.

p.s. - I'm sure Juise meant his post to be more welcoming than it appeared. One would hate to see this board turn into the usual message board knee-jerk-hate-spew towards any rivals post.


Sorry he didn't work out for you guys, but we are happy to have him. He fits in nicely and came up big for us last night (missed dunk notwithstanding).

By the way, out of curiosity I browsed the in-game thread here from the NCAAs last year and found the discussion of the Nova game to be perceptive and very classy, although that was surely a frustrating moment around here.

WildcatFan in NYC

[sivartrenrag]

It'd be nice to have the perspective of a 'Nova fan around these parts. Gotta say, Wright is my favorite coach other than K and 'Nova is my favorite non-ACC program. I really respect what they're doing up there.

[UrinalCake]

I caught the highlights and was wondering how long the ESPN announcers are going to refer to him as "Former Dukie Taylor King"? They do the same with Elliot Williams. These players have moved on and I wish the announcers would recognize them as members of their new teams, instead of subtly taking a jab at Duke.

I never really felt that his defense was THAT bad. He was a freshman and was asked to play inside probably a little more than would be ideal for him. I think if he had stayed we would have seen his defense improve. I do recognize that his fitness was reportedly poor. Anyways, glad to see him doing well and I hope that he is still welcomed within the Duke "family."

[hq2]

Taylor would have been very frustrated last year. We had lots of depth in the backcourt, and he wouldn't have played very much. Even this year, with Andre, we still have pretty good outside shooting, and he isn't that essential. The year off helped him work on his conditioning and defense, which he needed to do.
We wish him well at 'Nova.

[WildcatFan]

p.s. - I'm sure Juise meant his post to be more welcoming than it appeared. One would hate to see this board turn into the usual message board knee-jerk-hate-spew towards any rivals post.

I took it as light-hearted teasing. Not unwelcoming at all.

Have a good weekend, and good luck with the Zags next week!

[InSpades]

I've seen him play several times this year, and he impresses the heck out of me. Yes, he didn't do everything right as a freshman. Not the first time. Anyone with his size who can shoot like that can be a huge asset. For those not drinking the dark blue Kool Aid straight, it's hard not to think we screwed up in letting him get away.

Should we have tied him to a post and not let him leave? He's looked good to me when I've gotten a chance to see him play but it's not like Duke pushed him to leave. Are you saying we should have given him more playing time his freshman year? I'm not really sure what Duke could have done to keep him aside from that. I think we all wish him well and wished things could have worked out better at Duke but he made a decision for his future and it looks like it was a good one.

One thing I take away from this though is how much a guy can improve from freshman to sophomore year while taking a year off in between. If Seth Curry improves half as much as Taylor King seems to have improved... we are in for a real treat next year.

[sagegrouse]

Sorry he didn't work out for you guys, but we are happy to have him. He fits in nicely and came up big for us last night (missed dunk notwithstanding).

By the way, out of curiosity I browsed the in-game thread here from the NCAAs last year and found the discussion of the Nova game to be perceptive and very classy, although that was surely a frustrating moment around here.

WildcatFan in NYC

Sounds like Coach Wright told King the same thing K did about defense and passing. Only, the second time he believed it.

Good luck. Most of our transfers don't do well, but Taylor may prove to be the exception.

WRT to last March, the two Duke guys who took the most shots were a combined [Mods: Careful, Sage Grouse, this is a family site] f*o*u*r for 32 (% censored). So congratulations to Nova and the FF. This year we are improving our ability to shoot poorly and win: we beat UConn shooting under 30%. :):o

sagegrouse

[COYS]

One thing I take away from this though is how much a guy can improve from freshman to sophomore year while taking a year off in between. If Seth Curry improves half as much as Taylor King seems to have improved... we are in for a real treat next year.

Wait, are you saying that a player can actually improve without getting a minimum of 10 mpg with some crunch time minutes sprinkled in . . . players can actually develop in practice without playing in a single game for a whole year! ;) Wow. Maybe Ryan Kelly WILL be able to contribute down the road, after all.

All joking aside, I was sorry Taylor left, but am very glad he's matured and found his way to a better fit. Duke's not a great fit for everyone, and that is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing. Lots of high profile recruits pass through the doors of Cameron. Some just aren't going to be happy sitting behind another recruit. It happens. Taylor has the potential to be quite a player and I hope that his improved work ethic leads to much success against NOVA (unless they play us, again, of course).

[juise]

p.s. - I'm sure Juise meant his post to be more welcoming than it appeared. One would hate to see this board turn into the usual message board knee-jerk-hate-spew towards any rivals post.


I'm sure I did. That's why we use the little emoticons; they help us to indicate the tone of our posts.

If you look at the thread about players who have transferred from Duke, you'll see that I have listed a couple of updated on Taylor (and Jamal), and have never been negative about them.

[rsvman]

I dunno. I watched a fair bit of the game, and to me he still seems like he's not really committed to defense. What I mean is that he rests as much as possible while still providing D when it is needed. Maybe that's really the best way to play D; maybe conserving some energy is an important part of playing D.

But the D I saw him playing would, in all likelihood, still not measure up to what Coach K would expect/require out of him. I think he made a good move. He'll get plenty of P.T. and he'll score a lot of points.

I also think it's interesting that he's being utilized occasionally in the post on the offensive end, instead of just standing out there shooting 3's all the time.

[natedog4ever]

I also think it's interesting that he's being utilized occasionally in the post on the offensive end, instead of just standing out there shooting 3's all the time.

That stuck out to me as well. I watched for a solid 10 minutes and he was playing center on both ends. My guess is it's a way to leverage his rebounding skills while masking the defensive problem.

[greybeard]

I dunno. I watched a fair bit of the game, and to me he still seems like he's not really committed to defense. What I mean is that he rests as much as possible while still providing D when it is needed. Maybe that's really the best way to play D; maybe conserving some energy is an important part of playing D.

But the D I saw him playing would, in all likelihood, still not measure up to what Coach K would expect/require out of him. I think he made a good move. He'll get plenty of P.T. and he'll score a lot of points.

I also think it's interesting that he's being utilized occasionally in the post on the offensive end, instead of just standing out there shooting 3's all the time.

Squating and slapping the floor is not the only way to play defense. A more upright position with the body soft and feet closer together puts one in a position to move much more quickly in ALL DIRECTIONS than the latter. Now, if one is an exceptional athlete, and the point is to overplay and make the offensive player fight for the initial movement and then utilize superior effort and determination to stay with if the initial stand is defeated, then the slap-the-floor stance obviously works well, especially if done with the combinations and traps etc that K builds at Duke.

However, it is much tougher to beat a guy like TK when he is in what you call a relaxed position then if he were squating down AND TK is much more available as a potential BLOCKER of the jump shot in his position that you assume is not a good defensive one but I think you are wrong. His first step in any direction is also much quicker, albeit less explosive, standing as he does then if he were in a squat. Therefore, he is less likely to get beat. On the other hand, the on-ball pressure that the slap-the-floor stance can provide especially in concert with a defense geared to attack the attacker will not be there.

I'd have to think that TK is playing exactly the way his coach wants, and that he is by no means resting.

[elvis14]

I'm really glad Taylor King is getting off to a solid start at Villanova. I was happy when he came to Duke and disappointed when he transferred. Hopefully, he continues to work hard and prosper at Villanova.


I've seen him play several times this year, and he impresses the heck out of me. Yes, he didn't do everything right as a freshman. Not the first time. Anyone with his size who can shoot like that can be a huge asset. For those not drinking the dark blue Kool Aid straight, it's hard not to think we screwed up in letting him get away.

I think I'm in the minority around here (with Bob and Wally) in that I liked TK and would have liked to see him stay. I think he would have matured and gotten better and helped with the issue we had last year when we didn't have enough guys to put the ball in the basket. Reading comments here, people label him a one-trick pony (shoot the 3). I saw him as a guy who could shoot the 3, had other skills and had areas for improvement. I was confident Duke's coaches would have helped in the improvement.

Thanks for visiting WildcatFan, good luck to your 'cats and TK this season.

[BD80]

.... WRT to last March, the two Duke guys who took the most shots were a combined [Mods: Careful, Sage Grouse, this is a family site] f*o*u*r for 32 (% censored). So congratulations to Nova and the FF. This year we are improving our ability to shoot poorly and win: we beat UConn shooting under 30%. :):o

sagegrouse

I've heard of self-medicating (pass the Beaujolais, please), but self-moderating?

Best wishes to Taylor, I hope he is happy at Nova.