King to transfer from Duke after one season

Freshman Taylor King has decided to leave Duke, University officials announced in a statement Monday.

King, a 6-foot-6 forward from Huntington Beach, Calif., logged minutes in each of Duke's 34 games this season and ranks eighth in the Blue Devil freshman record book for 3-pointers made with 43. He finished the season having averaged 5.9 points and two rebounds per contest.

"Taylor is a solid young man and has the ability to be a good player," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We support him in his decision to transfer and wish him the best of luck in the future."

King went home to Huntington Beach, Calif. over the weekend to spend time with his family and discuss his future, a Duke Athletics official said. The freshman sharpshooter, who did not clock more than six minutes in any of Duke's final six games, ultimately decided it was in his best interest to part ways with the Blue Devils and look into his options to play elsewhere.

A source close to the team confirmed that King did not show up to team workouts Monday, and that the scout.com five-star recruit intends to explore the option of transferring to either Villanova or Gonzaga-two programs that had offered King scholarships when he originally was recruited in 2006.

Although King posted six double-figure efforts in games before Jan. 9-including a 27-point output against Eastern Kentucky and 15-point performances against Temple and Big Ten champion Wisconsin-his minutes and production declined sharply in February and March. The 3-point specialist failed to crack double-digits in scoring in those months, scoring only six 3-pointers in that time frame.