Sunday, February 13, 2011

Jordan Taylor has deserved this publicity all season long

If I were starting a college basketball team this season, the first guard I would take is Nolan Smith. He's a senior leader, he can score, he can shoot, he can create for his teammates, and he is capable of taking a game over down the stretch.

The first big man I would take if Jared Sullinger. He's impossible to keep from getting position in the paint, he's efficient at putting the ball in the hoop when he gets into position, and he rarely makes the wrong the decision with the ball when the double team comes.

After that?

Jordan Taylor of Wisconsin.


That may surprise some people. No Jimmer? No Kemba? No Jordan Hamilton or Derrick Williams or JaJuan Johnson?

And I'm not just saying this because he scored 21 of his 27 points and handed out four of his seven assists in the last 13 minutes against No. 1 Ohio State as the Badgers overcame a 15 point deficit to hand the Buckeyes their first loss.

I've been on Taylor since the beginning. Well, the beginning of the season, at least.

Coming into today's game, Taylor was averaging 17.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 4.5 apg with just a 3.9 assist-to-turnover ratio despite playing on the slowest team in the country. Seriously. Wisconsin averages just 57.7 possessions a game, which means that Taylor is able to put up those kind of numbers despite having, on average, 16 fewer chances per game to score than a team like North Carolina or Washington.

And, as evidenced today, he's the guy that Bo Ryan relies on late in the game. Down the stretch, Taylor is the guy who has the ball in his hands. He is the guy who makes the decisions for the Badgers. Jon Leuer gets the publicity, but Taylor is the Badger's most valuable player.

Knowing that, its a travesty that Taylor doesn't get the credit that he deserves.

He wasn't a finalist for the Cousy Award, meaning that he wasn't voted by the media to be one of the top ten point guards in the country. He wasn't a finalist for the Naismith Award, either, which means that those same media types don't believe that Taylor is one of the 30 best players in the country.

I'll go ahead and say that was an oversight.

Taylor will, hopefully, start to get the credit he deserves after his performance against the Buckeyes Saturday afternoon.

But for every story you read on him from today's games, remember this -- he has deserved that credit all season long.

1 comment:

Dalis G. said...

Excellent story. What a shame they ignored this guy. Wisconsin is a great team that is tops in the nation at free throws and protecting the ball. Having 3-4 solid three point shooters and a great D, this could be the year the paper translates to a trophy. Taylor is as you say one of the better plays in the NCAA.