Taylor King turns pro to play in Germany

Taylor King is on the move again, and this time he’s going overseas.

The former Mater Dei High School basketball standout has decided to skip his final year of college eligibility and play professionally in Germany, according to his last college coach, Ken Ammann of Concordia University.

“He got some good offers and so he decided to go travel,” Ammann said. “It’s a good opportunity for him. I heard he got a deal in Germany and there were still more on the table.

“I think he had to make a decision before school started and he decided to pursue that.”

Ammann said he also believed that King would have had to earn some college units during the summer to remain academically eligible, but he didn’t take those required classes.

King’s travels have been widely reported and criticized. He made a verbal commitment to UCLA before he ever played a game in high school for Mater Dei. He never went to UCLA, instead accepting a scholarship to Duke.

King played one season at Duke before transferring to Villanova. After one year at Villanova, King transferred to Concordia in Irvine, picking the NAIA school over USC in part because he wouldn’t have to sit out another season as required by NCAA rules. King had already sat out one season between his freshman year at Duke and his sophomore year at Villanova.

King, now 23, helped NAIA reach the quarterfinals of the NAIA national championship tournament last season and was named an NAIA first-team All-American.

The 6-foot-6 forward tied for the team lead averaging 14.8 points per game and led the team in rebounding averaging 6.4 per game.

“We knew when he came here it might be a one-year deal,” Ammann said. “He had a great year here and did really well. There are pros and cons (to King leaving); we could have used him another year.”