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USC basketball: Former Santa Ana Mater Dei star Taylor King not coming to USC

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Taylor King, a onetime Santa Ana Mater Dei High School basketball star who had played at Duke and Villanova before recently announcing he would transfer to USC, will not be coming to USC after all, a USC spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

The spokesman was unable to give details as to why King, a former McDonald’s All-American who became notable for committing to UCLA as a 15-year-old, will not become a Trojan.

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But a source close to USC said that King ‘didn’t want to pay’ to come to USC, which he would have had to do in the upcoming season because the Trojans didn’t have a scholarship to offer him. King would have been considered a walk-on during that time, and he would have received a scholarship the following season, when he would have been eligible to play after sitting out because of NCAA transfer rules.

King, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward, played in 32 games for Villanova last season, averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. He declined to speak earlier about the circumstances under which he left the program, though many outlets reported that he left following a violation of team rules.

-- Baxter Holmes

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