The one that got away at UCLA

DURHAM, N.C. -- The last time Taylor King was home in California, he picked up something he once didn’t imagine he would need in college.

A winter coat.

King heard about UCLA receiving a commitment from a high school sophomore last month, and USC getting one last summer from a player who had just finished eighth grade.

From where he sits -- about 2,500 miles from Westwood -- that’s not necessarily the best idea.

“I’m not going to tell them not to make the decision,” said King, who committed to the Bruins before his freshman season at Mater Dei but later signed with Duke. “I would tell them, ‘Make sure you’re in love with the place. Make sure it’s everything you want.’ ”

On the Duke campus, he is no longer the star from Santa Ana Mater Dei who reneged on UCLA only to see the Bruins reach two consecutive Final Fours just as Duke fell flat in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“Yeah, they made the Final Four twice. It was ironic. I noticed that,” King said. “Everybody was like, ‘You’re an idiot.’ That’s just the way it is. I knew UCLA was going to be good. I never doubted them. I just felt that from my standpoint and for my college career, I felt like I could have been in a better situation. I thought I could go to another school that fit me.”

King said that’s what he has found at Duke, where the Blue Devils are unbeaten and ranked No. 6, although he isn’t the most prominent freshman on the team. That would be Kyle Singler, the versatile 6-toot-8 forward who is shouldering the scoring load along with Gerald Henderson.

King, a 6-6 forward, is coming off the bench but has scored as many as 27 points in a game, making six of 11 three-point attempts against Eastern Kentucky.

Just don’t call him a shooter off the bench. That’s not the phrase Coach Mike Krzyzewski prefers.

“I’d rather call him a player off the bench,” Krzyzewski said. “If he becomes a shooter off the bench, then he’ll never become a player. Taylor’s a player, and he’s a tough kid. If he just puts his eggs in shooting, in that basket, then he’s shortchanging himself.”

King, averaging 10.8 points and shooting 46.9% from three-point range, has a big role in some games.

Some games he doesn’t, barely getting on the floor in scoreless outings against Illinois and Marquette.

But, King said, “I love it out here.”

“People are so nice and so supportive. The atmosphere around here is just awesome in term of the focus on basketball, college basketball.”

Nothing against UCLA, King said, but it wasn’t for him.

“I realized UCLA was a big school,” he said. “I wasn’t really thinking straight about the school part, meaning the size, when I committed. When I opened it back up, I did it because I wanted to look at other options, just see what else I could see to fit in. Duke is a smaller campus, but that’s what I was looking for.

“I was like 14 or 15 when I committed,” he said. “That was like five years ago. So I was a different player back then than I am now. I was obviously tall, but I was always a big man. I developed my shot, and my shot’s a lot better than it was then. Going into high school I was 6-6. I was just a different player. I wanted to run now.”

The courtship between the Bruins and King didn’t work out, but King said he felt UCLA Coach Ben Howland was gracious about it, and the experience obviously didn’t convince Howland not to try again. Some coaches feel they almost have to, because if they don’t make an early offer, another school will.

“It is what it is,” Howland said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen that often. I think it’s going to be more the exception. But it’s a positive for some kids. Recruiting is a tough experience. For some, it’s very distracting.

“It has to be the right kid, the right situation in terms of the parents and the background,” said Howland, prohibited by NCAA rules from discussing the oral commitment made by sophomore guard Kendall Williams of Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos High last month.

Krzyzewski said the earliest commitment to Duke was by DeMarcus Nelson, at the end of his sophomore year.

“I think some kids commit too early. I think schools accept kids too early,” Krzyzewski said.

“We’ve told kids we can’t, and I’m sure we’re not the only one. This is a huge decision for you and us. It’s like you’re getting married. Let’s not do it on the computer or off of instant messaging. I believe they should know you and you should know the kid and the family.”

The player should also know himself -- something that isn’t that likely at 14.

“I’d say, if that’s the style of play you want to play, then go there, but it’s not just one thing about the school,” King said. “It’s the academics, the coaching staff, the family atmosphere, the style of play, the weather.

“I mean, I’d have been at Syracuse if it was in California.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com