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LOS ANGELES -- Arizona State dismissed leading scorer Keala King from the program Sunday, a day after the Sun Devils completed their best weekend of the season without him.
We have decided that Keala will no longer be with the team. We wish him nothing but the best in his future, ASU coach Herb Sendek in a prepared statement.
King, forward Kyle Cain and reserve guard Chris Colvin missed the trip to Los Angeles while under suspension for unacceptable conduct, but the Sun Devils beat USC on Thursday before falling to UCLA on Saturday. Cain and Colvin are expected to return to practice Monday.
The 6-foot-5 King, averaging 13.69 points per game, was asked to play point guard this season after freshman recruit Jahii Carson could not gain his eligibility and Colvin, a junior-college transfer, was not a good fit. King was miscast at point, often looking to score rather than involve his teammates in the offense.
King, a sophomore, was ranked as the nations No. 26 prospect by Rivals.com and No. 53 by ESPN.com when he joined ASU last season. When he signed, he was compared to former ASU All-American James Harden, apparently because both are from Los Angeles and both are left-handed. Their understanding of the game could hardly be more dissimilar, however.
Sendek and King butted heads at times last season, and King never seemed to comprehend his role with the team. He averaged 4.9 rebounds this season but had more turnovers than assists (51-43). ASU was averaging 16.5 turnovers a game entering last weekend, one of the highest figures in Division I.
Wing Trent Lockett, who handled the point most of the time against USC and UCLA, is averaging 13.67 points a game. Sendek praised Locketts leadership on the trip, when ASU played with just six scholarship players.
Player shuffling is not unusual at Arizona State these days.
King is the third player from the 2010 recruiting class to leave the program. Sophomore Corey Hawkins, the son of NBA great Hersey Hawkins and the leading scorer in Arizona high school history, transferred to UC-Davis after averaging 2.0 points in 24 games last year. He will be eligible next season. Senior Brandon Dunson also left the program last spring after averaging 2.1 points in 18 games last season. Neither was a true lead guard, although both may have based their decision on Carsons expected arrival.
ASU also has lost four players from the 2009 class, including Demetrius Walker and Taylor Rohde. Walker transferred to New Mexico, where he is a reserve guard, and Rhode was an all-conference player at Division II Alaska-Anchorage last year.
None of the players who left has made a major impact at a major program.
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