Wednesday, September 22, 2010

2011 Gaucho recruit TJ Taylor verbals

According to ESPN, 5'9" class of 2011 point guard T. J. Taylor from Oakland High verbally committed to UCSB, after de-committing from Santa Clara University.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/75661/tj-taylor

Strengths:
Taylor is a quick on quick point guard with a tight handle. He is equally good at going left or right and he pushes the ball at a relentless pace. He always has his head up and he does a nice job of advancing the ball in transition. He can also knock down the open jump shot at a consistent rate.

Weaknesses:
Obviously, Taylor doesn't have ideal size for the next level, but there have been many guards in the past (with his size that have been successful). At the next level, he'll have to monitor his decision-making as he has a tendency to push the ball when the opportunity doesn%u2019t present itself - thus leading to costly turnovers.

Bottom Line:
Taylor has the talent and skill to play at the D-I level. The former Santa Clara commit decided to open up his recruitment and will probably end up in the Big West Conference. If he can learn how to change speeds and manage the game at a more efficient rate he should be a solid lead guard at the next level.
Notes

Decommitted from Santa Clara (1/10)...Committed to UCSB in Sept. 2010...

Hat tip to "Charlie Hill Can't Score" from the Gaucholocos message board for finding the ESPN profile.

A thanks to "Dodger Soul" for finding this Youtube video of Taylor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycrWCZlM2AM

And last but not least, thanks to "Gaucho 89" for alerting fellow Gaucholocos.

No comments: