Usually a team has a player transfer out or transfer in. Rarely do you see one team do both.
In January, after freshman guard Malcolm Grant came off the bench and poured in 22 points to lead Villanova to a 64-63 win over Pitt, Coach Jay Wright called Grant, "the heart and soul of this team." By February, his minutes started to really dwindle as he could not get into the rotation behind Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes. In the final 14 games (including the postseason tournaments), Grant never even got to play a single minute. This, despite shooting 46.6% on 3s.
No surprise, that the talented but underutilized Grant, requested and received permission to transfer. He left the guard heavy Wildcats for the Miami Hurricanes.
At nearly the same time, Villanova got a transfer coming their way. Forward Taylor King left Duke after his freshman season. He chose Duke over Villanova last year. Now, he is getting a do-over.
This could not have worked out better for Villanova and Jay Wright. The Wildcats were crowded in their backcourt with Reynolds, Stokes and Fisher. King has to sit out a season as a transfer. Villanova has 3 forwards -- Shane Clark, Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson -- who will all be seniors this season. When King becomes eligible he will be positioned to step right in as a starter
