High schooler makes smart move in retracting promise

The day that Bruin basketball fans first learned that precocious
Mater Dei sophomore Taylor King had decided to renege on his
commitment to UCLA, some cried foul.

A betrayal, they called it, dismissing King as a traitor to Ben
Howland’s cause.

Well, you know what, I applaud King’s decision. It’s
the first smart thing he’s done in his entire recruitment
process.

It’s better for him. And it may even be better for the
Bruins as well.

The summer before his freshman year at Mater Dei High School in
Santa Ana, King verbally committed to UCLA, creating a stir among
basketball coaches and recruiting junkies everywhere.

It was the earliest any basketball player had ever committed to
the Bruins, and it created a heated debate in recruiting
circles.

Many Bruin fans applauded his choice.

Others, perhaps yielding to common sense, questioned whether an
eighth grader should be deciding on a college before he even plays
a game in high school.

Thankfully for King, he opted to back out of that decision this
week, opening up a wealth of college possibilities that he seemed
to squander two years ago.

It will let King be a part of the recruiting process that he
hadn’t been able to experience.

It will let him actually see other schools and look at them
seriously. And it will make sure that wherever he goes to school,
it will be the right decision, not one he made prematurely.

And as for UCLA, it helps that King tells them this now as
opposed to his junior or senior year. Howland and his staff
couldn’t have expected an eighth grader to know where he
wanted to be in five years, and even if they did, they have time to
explore other recruiting options.

When I confirmed King had uncommitted on Wednesday with his
father, Steve King, he didn’t have much to say.

He said he did not want to comment further out of respect to
both his son and UCLA because Taylor won’t be able to tell
Howland in person that he is exploring other options until next
week.

But it’s a meeting that shouldn’t even have to take
place.

King still has two full seasons left at powerhouse Mater Dei
before he even gets the chance to don a college jersey.
That’s two springs and two summers of basketball camps,
all-star tournaments and club leagues to compete in.

A lot can happen in two years, and a lot has happened over the
last two years.

That’s why 14-year-olds shouldn’t be put in a
position that forces him to decide his future for the next eight
years. Teenagers need all the time and information possible to make
the right choice about the future.

And when making a decision on which school to go to, King will
surely look at where he can get the most playing time ““ and
UCLA probably won’t be that school.

The last thing UCLA will likely need in the next couple of years
is another power forward. Don’t get me wrong, King is very
good ““ many publications have him among the top-10 forwards
for the class of 2007.

But the Bruins already have received other verbal commitments at
wing, including one from top prospect James Keefe from Santa
Margarita, who is in the class of 2006, one year ahead of King.

If King decides to go elsewhere, UCLA could try to use that
roster spot to find a center, which they will likely need.

And if King still decides to go to UCLA, more power to him. This
time around, he’ll know for sure he made the right
choice.

After eighth grade, Quinonez tried verbally committing to
schools, but no one listened. E-mail him at
gquinonez@media.ucla.edu.

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