Jeffery Taylor

Jeffery Taylor
College Vanderbilt
Conference SEC
Sport Basketball
Position Guard/forward
Jersey # 44
Class Senior
Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Nationality Swedish/American
Born May 23, 1989 (1989-05-23) (age 22)
Norrköping, Sweden
High school Hobbs HS,
Hobbs, New Mexico

Jeffery Matthew Taylor (born May 23, 1989 in Norrköping)[1] is a Swedish basketball player currently in his senior (final) season at Vanderbilt University. A 6'7" (2.01 m) swingman, he was rated by the NBA Draft projection site DraftExpress.com in August 2011 as the top rising senior in college basketball and a late first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.[2] Taylor is also one of three Vanderbilt players named by Basketball Prospectus as among the top 20 in men's college basketball in the 2011–12 season.[3]

Contents

Life in Sweden

Taylor is the second-oldest[1] of the six children of Jeff Taylor, who briefly played in the NBA before playing in Sweden, where he has lived ever since.[4] While the younger Taylor is a citizen of both Sweden and the United States by birth, and has lived in the U.S. since 2006, he has said, "...if someone asks where I'm from, I say Sweden." However, he grew up steeped in the basketball culture of Hobbs, New Mexico, where his father was a high school star in the late 1970s:

“ I just always wanted to be a Hobbs [High School] Eagle. It’s kind of a thing I always grew up with. I heard stories about their crowds and stuff like that.[4] ”

From Sweden to America

Taylor left Sweden for Hobbs in 2006, moving in with his grandmother. Besides his desire to play at his father's alma mater, he determined that playing high school basketball in America would enhance his college basketball prospects.[4]

He quickly drew major interest from NCAA Division I programs, especially after a senior season when he averaged more than 30 points while leading Hobbs to a state title.[4]

Taylor, named one of the top 150 recruits in the country by ESPN, considered about a half-dozen schools before narrowing his choices to Vanderbilt and Texas, eventually choosing Vanderbilt. He was one of three top-150 recruits signed by Commodores head coach Kevin Stallings in 2008.[4]

College career

After Taylor's freshman season of 2008–09, DraftExpress.com said, "One of the most pleasant surprises in last season’s mediocre SEC [Southeastern Conference] was the emergence of Vanderbilt freshman Jeff Taylor."[5] He averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds[6] on his way to SEC All-Freshman honors.[7] However, he showed one weakness in an otherwise solid season by shooting only 22 percent from three-point range.[8]

His sophomore season saw some progress, but also some cause for concern; one scout said near the end of the season, "while he is improved in many areas, he has regressed in some as well."[9] Taylor improved his scoring average to 13.3 per game, but his rebounding dropped slightly to 5.2 per game.[6] The most obvious issue was his perimeter shooting, which saw a decline; he attempted only 11 three-pointers and made only one.[8] Nonetheless, he was named to the All-SEC second team by the league's coaches, and was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.[10]

In 2010–11, he further established his reputation as a defensive stopper, frequently being called on to defend every position on the floor except center[11] while again being named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.[12] Taylor also improved his three-point shooting to a more respectable 34.5%[13] while attempting more than twice as many shots from behind the arc as in his first two seasons combined.[6] Averaging 14.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, he was again named second-team All-SEC.[12]

Taylor was widely viewed as a potential early entry into the 2011 NBA Draft, based mainly on his athleticism and defensive skills.[2][8] However, he decided to stay at Venderbilt for his senior season in 2011–12. His decision to return, along with those of fellow stars John Jenkins and Festus Ezeli, made the Commodores a likely preseason top-10 pick.[3][14][15]

Statistics

Jeffery Taylor Statistics at Vanderbilt University[6]
Year G FG FGA PCT 3FG 3FGA PCT FT FTA PCT REB AVG A TO B S MIN AVG PTS AVG
2008-09 31 136 271 .502 9 41 .220 96 139 .691 192 6.2 53 69 12 29 805 26.0 377 12.2
2009-10 33 148 300 .493 1 11 .091 141 189 .746 172 5.2 57 74 13 36 883 26.8 438 13.3
2010-11 34 171 381 .449 39 113 .345 120 167 .719 188 5.5 80 87 19 35 1078 31.7 501 14.7
Totals 98 455 952 .478 49 165 .297 357 495 .721 552 5.6 190 230 44 100 2766 28.2 1316 13.4

References

  1. ^ a b "Player Profile: Jeffery Taylor". Vanderbilt University Athletics. http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/taylor_jeffery00.html. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "NBA Prospect Profile: Jeff Taylor". DraftExpress.com. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jeff-Taylor-1351/. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Bergeron, Elena (August 9, 2011). "CBB Summer Buzz: Vanderbilt". ESPN.com. http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/story?id=6836994&_slug_=cbb-vanderbilt-commodores-2011-12-summer-buzz-preview&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2fstory%3fid%3d6836994%26_slug_%3dcbb-vanderbilt-commodores-2011-12-summer-buzz-preview. Retrieved August 20, 2011.  (full article behind paywall; cited information in free preview)
  4. ^ a b c d e "New hoops recruit ready to get started at Vandy". Nashville City Paper. April 22, 2008. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/sports/new-hoops-recruit-ready-get-started-vandy. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  5. ^ Givony, Jonathan; Nelson (September 18, 2009). "Top NBA Draft Prospects in the SEC (Part One: #1-5)". DraftExpress.com. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Top-NBA-Draft-Prospects-in-the-SEC-Part-One-1-5--3319/. Retrieved September 5, 2011. 
  6. ^ a b c d "Jeffery Taylor Profile". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=41709. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Ogilvy, Taylor Named All-SEC" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Athletics. March 10, 2009. http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031009aac.html. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b c Brennan, Eamonn (June 28, 2011). "Letters From Camp: Jeffery Taylor from 3?". College Basketball Nation Blog. ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/32426/letters-from-camp-taylor-from-three. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  9. ^ Nelson, Kyle (March 18, 2010). "NCAA Weekly Performers, 3/18/10". DraftExpress.com. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NCAA-Weekly-Performers-31810-3418/. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Coaches' All-SEC Team Commodore-laden" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Athletics. March 9, 2010. http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030910aae.html. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  11. ^ Givony, Jonathan (March 18, 2011). "Trending Prospects (3/18/2011)". DraftExpress.com. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Trending-Prospects-3182011--3651/. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  12. ^ a b "2011 SEC Men’s Hoops Awards Announced" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 8, 2011. http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/NEWS/tabid/473/Article/222025/2011-sec-mens-hoops-awards-announced.aspx. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  13. ^ Brennan, Eamonn (August 9, 2011). "Summer Buzz: Vanderbilt Commodores". College Basketball Nation Blog. ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/33847/summer-buzz-vanderbilt-commodores. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 
  14. ^ Katz, Andy (August 9, 2011). "Festus Ezeli continues to learn the game". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/6847643/festus-ezeli-continues-learn-game. Retrieved August 20, 2011. 
  15. ^ Vitale, Dick (July 26, 2011). "Dickie V Preseason Top 40: Top 10". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/espn/dickvitale/story/_/id/6787669/dick-vitale-preseason-top-10-unc-takes-top-spot. Retrieved August 19, 2011. 

External links