"We asked him if he wanted to transfer and he said he did not want to play, and he'd rather stay here. Given his personal situation, that's want he wants to do, and we support it."
Wright called King's situation "disheartening."
"As a coach, it doesn't bother me as it does as a parent," he said. "He's a good kid. He's got a lot of talent, and it's just sad. Everybody wants the kid to be successful and be happy."
King, a McDonald's high school all-American from Huntington Beach, Calif., played his freshman season at Duke and then transferred to Villanova. After sitting out a season under NCAA rules, King averaged 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 19 minutes, finishing second on the team in three-point baskets and offensive rebounds.
King sat out the final game of the regular season against West Virginia because of what Wright at the time called "a minor teaching point."
He emphasized that King had broken no team rules.
"It's been a process as he's gone through these problems," Wright said. "We've been working with him on some of these issues and how to deal with them . . . a process that's going to help him mature and make decisions. He's in no trouble at all. It's more personal. He's a great kid."
King will enter his senior year and is scheduled to graduate on time next spring. Wright said that the school will support King as a student, but that King "cannot be part of the team at all."
Asked whether King would retain his scholarship for his final year, Wright replied, "That's something we're going to work on here. We're in the middle of discussing that."
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.
