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VillaRosa home is fit for a King
Marble pillars in the bathroom and a black Marcite swimming pool are just a few of the amenities the Bucs quarterback requested when he moved in.
By JANET ZINK
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 15, 2002
Shaun King's home is clearly his castle.
It's the place where he can kick back and relax. In his car, a black Mercedes with mag wheels, he listens to rap music. In his home, it's jazz and R&B by candlelight, often while soaking in a bubble bath in his jetted tub.
That's right: bubble baths. Shaun King, third-string quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, digs candlelight bubble baths. This tough guy loves to cook, keep his house spotless and burn scented candles.
"You walk in the house, and it's cold and it smells good," he says. "It just does something for you."
King, 25, moved out of his parents' St. Petersburg home and into his 3,600-square-foot bachelor pad in VillaRosa in February 2000. He chose to live in this community near the northern border of Hillsborough County because he likes to "get away from everything."
"The only bad thing is I'm out in the country," he says. "I can't keep the windows clean."
King bought the house when Nohlcrest was about six months into the building process. This allowed him to add a few custom details. He requested a black tile backsplash and black counter tops in the kitchen, a doubled-headed shower and a six-foot tub framed by pillars in the master bathroom and a black Marcite finish on the swimming pool.
He later added stained-glass front doors and an aquarium and built-in entertainment center in the great room, where he shows off six of his 10 game balls.
Paintings by St. Petersburg artist Herbert Davis hang on walls throughout the home. There are several paintings of beautiful women and one of King with the red-and-white cane used for step dancing by his Tulane University fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi. In the dining room hangs a painting of King as a little boy with his mom and dad and the words "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother."
"It reminds me of how blessed I am," King says of the painting. "Not everyone is lucky enough to grow up with both of their parents."
A three-way mirror in the bedroom lets King get a good look at himself from all angles when he's getting dressed to go out. He confesses he's a bit of a clothes horse. The walk-in closet in the bedroom is filled to capacity, with overflow clothing in two of the home's three spare bedrooms.
In the office, just inside the front door, he displays his diploma and a seal of Florida presented to him by St. Petersburg College. One day, he says, he'll hang the artwork that commemorates the time he flew in an F-16 with a pilot named Slim at MacDill Air Force Base.
French doors in the master bedroom and sliding glass doors in the great room open to the screened pool.
"This is where we hang out," King says. "Me and my home boys."
He and his friends can lounge by the pool and watch three sporting events at once: Two TVs entertain at poolside, one with a wide screen, and the wide-screen family room TV is visible from the pool.
The game room upstairs is also equipped with two wall-mounted televisions, as well as a pool table, poker table and Coca-Cola cooler stocked with beer, tea and Powerade. King has an endorsement deal with the sodamaker, and the company supplies him with its products.
Up here, King keeps his framed football jerseys from Gibbs High School, Tulane University and the Bucs, all bearing No. 10. One wall holds various awards and framed newspaper articles, including a 1999 clipping from the St. Petersburg Times with a photograph of him celebrating his first NFL touchdown pass.
People still remember that this St. Petersburg native led the Bucs to the NFC championships in his rookie year. King was forced into action that season when starting quarterback Trent Dilfer broke his clavicle in week 11. King is one of only two rookie quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to win a playoff contest.
In 2000, King started 16 regular season games and one playoff game.
Then came Brad Johnson, who has been starting quarterback for the last two seasons.
So far this year, King has been on the field during a game for only one play. That was Oct. 27 against the Carolina Panthers.
"That's the only time I got to set foot on an NFL playing surface after field exercises," he says. "I felt like a little kid who just got out of timeout."
King made the most of the play.
There were high-fives for the hometown hero.
Playing pro ball in the area where he grew up allows King to give back to the friends and family who are his biggest fans.
"I love the people. They love me," he says. "I get to see my mom and dad regularly and my grandmother. She just turned 81. It's a win-win situation."
At each Bucs home game, he treats community groups to 24 free tickets in King's Court in the end zone. Honored guests come from King's alma maters, Gibbs High School and Azalea Middle School, King's church, Peace Missionary Baptist Church, the local chapter of KAP, Central Christian School and Academy Preparatory School, a private school in St. Petersburg that serves underprivileged kids.
Now that he's owned a house for the first time, King says he might do things a little differently on the next go-round. He'd like to have more closet space and a workout room. And, perhaps, a place to show off his trophies.
"I don't have one of those big trophy rooms. Yet," he says. "I will in the next home."
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