[Rosiak's Blog] Tyshawn Taylor interview

[ToddRosiakSays]

Tyshawn Taylor interview

While the bevy of cute kids dressed in Halloween costumes was certainly a highlight of MU's open practice on Friday night, it was the teenager sporting jeans and a warmup jacket on the sidelines that was getting the majority of the attention from the Golden Eagles' coaching staff.

His name? Tyshawn Taylor, a 6-foot-2 combination guard from St. Anthony's in Jersey City, N.J. With Iman Shumpert having committed to Georgia Tech, Taylor is considered a must-get recruit for MU, which is still looking to fill a spot in its backcourt for its 2008-'09 recruiting class.

Here's what Taylor had to say about his official visit:

What was the vibe like during your visit? I liked it a lot. I had a good time.

What's the biggest priority for you in choosing a school? I want to play. I want to play. That's definitely one of the most important things to me. Just where I'm going to be comfortable and have a good time, and have a coach I know I can talk to when I need to and things like that.

The guard depth at MU has apparently concerned some potential recruits, most notably Iman Shumpert. Do you think you could work your way into the rotation there? Definitely. Because if Dominic (James) leaves, that's a spot I could walk right into almost. Maurice (Acker), I think me and him could play together because he can shoot it real well. I think we could play together, and I should be OK.

Would you prefer to play point guard? I like playing point guard. I've been playing the 2 since I've been in sixth grade, and I just recently started playing at the 1 over the last couple of summers. I can play both 1 and 2 pretty much equal.

As a New Jersey native, how big an influence would playing in the Big East have on your decision? That'd be cool because my mom, she loves to come to all my games. That'd be cool for her to to be able to see me at least 5-6 times a season or whatever. Plus a couple of the guys I play with in high school are going to the Big East, so that'd be fun to be able to play against them too. I like the situation they have for me. I'm not saying anything yet, but I like (MU).

Where else have you visited officially? Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.

Word has it Kansas has an interest in you. Are you trying to work out a visit to Lawrence? I'm not sure what I want to do with that situation yet. I'm not positive. I'm going to talk to my coach, my friends and my family and probably make a decision some time after that.

So you'll make a final decision sometime over the next week or two? Yeah.

You play for a legendary high-school coach in Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's. Do you see any similarities between his coaching style and Tom Crean's? Yeah. They're both the type of guys that when you do something wrong they get on you, but when you do something good they'll pat you on your back and let you know you did a good job. I'm used to playing for somebody like that, and if I can live with Coach Hurley for four years I can deal with anybody. I can deal with anybody.

What's your impression of the players at MU? They're real cool and they work hard. I'm used to working hard. I come from a school of guys who work hard, and we play at a basketball school with tradition, so I'm sure that I could fit right in (at MU)

http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2007/10/28/tyshawn-taylor-interview.aspx

[77ncaachamps]

The guard depth at MU has apparently concerned some potential recruits, most notably Iman Shumpert. Do you think you could work your way into the rotation there? Definitely. Because if Dominic (James) leaves, that's a spot I could walk right into almost. Maurice (Acker), I think me and him could play together because he can shoot it real well. I think we could play together, and I should be OK.

Can we now blame DJ for Iman's dissing of MU and maybe TT pairing with him @ GT? It's not fair to DJ, but DARNIT! Had he been drafted, a good chunk of the current recruiting woes may have been solved! Still, I maintain that he's not getting drafted til his Senior year. I don't see how one summer can really equal NBAesque improvements in his game.

I hope TT comes. It'd be exciting to have a high-quality, pure PG at MU.

[tomcrean4pres]

Recruits must not think to highly of themselves if they are all worried about playing time...

[bilsu]

I heard (not from a reliable source) that DJ is either in the NBA or Europe next year. His family needs the money. Obviously if he gets hurt or has a horrible year he may be back. However, it is a forgone conclusion that he will not be here next year. He will have the degree he promised his mother.

[NCMUFan]

I am a believer in one in the hand is better than two in the bush.  DJ has certainly proved himself the last two years.  The game against Duke he took control and basically won it for Marquette.  I am not one to push him out the door because new recruits may be afraid they have to spend some time on the bench the first couple of years.

[Avenue Commons]

I am a believer in one in the hand is better than two in the bush.  DJ has certainly proved himself the last two years.  The game against Duke he took control and basically won it for Marquette.  I am not one to push him out the door because new recruits may be afraid they have to spend some time on the bench the first couple of years.

Absolutely. The idea that Shumpert turned down MU solely because of the depth at the 1 and the 2 is speculation. There are a lot of factors that would go into a decision like that. Moreover, DJ has been a really, really good college player for MU. At times he's been nothing short of great. I for one am happy to have DJ at Marquette for as long as we can have him. If he goes pro next year then so be it, but we could be a lot worse off than having Dominic James at the 1 for the next year or two.

[Harrison]

"I hope TT comes. It'd be exciting to have a high-quality, pure PG at MU."

That is simply a dembfounding comment.  DJ is an awesome PG named to the wooden list as a soph and a junior.  Unfortunately many MU fans are so devoid of any basketball knowledge that they like to heap negativity onto DJ.  Let me paint the picture for the thick.  DJ is a point guard.  Problem is with MU's current team DJ is also in many cases our best opportunity to score the ball.  If DJ was on a team with a couple true soring bigs and a couple of guys that could really shoot it DJ's points would diminish and his assits would sky rocket.  DJ shoots alot and forces the offense alot.  NOw many a moron will come on here and post that he is doing that to showcase his skills to the NBA blah blah blah.  he is doing that becuase he is told to, Crean and staff have correctly determined that while he is our "point" guard he is still probably our best scoring optuion.  Now part of that whole problem is he is not a truly great shooter, nevertheless, he is either the best or one of the best.  Therefore for the "team' to have it''s best chance to win he has to help in the scoring.  Had we 4 better scorers around him he could simply distribute and would shoot a whole lot less.  That is not MU;s reality. Bring back Steve Novak and put a tyler hansborough on the florr this year and Dj scores 10 and averages 10 assts a game.  The ignorance at times floors me.

[77ncaachamps]

 - Because of his poor shooting, he better not be the best opportunity to score - as you say he is.
- There were 5 players with better FG% than DJ last year...4 of them were his starting teammates.
- Even if DJ had 4 guys that could produce around him, he'd still shoot the ball...and miss.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

I heard (not from a reliable source) that DJ is either in the NBA or Europe next year. His family needs the money. Obviously if he gets hurt or has a horrible year he may be back. However, it is a forgone conclusion that he will not be here next year. He will have the degree he promised his mother.

Would make sense with everything that is going on and you can't fault anyone (though PRN will blame Crean for pushing him out) involved because if he follows through on the course he is on now he indeed will have graduated from school and it's time to pursue a professional career.

[Harrison]

- Because of his poor shooting, he better not be the best opportunity to score - as you say he is.
- There were 5 players with better FG% than DJ last year...4 of them were his starting teammates.
- Even if DJ had 4 guys that could produce around him, he'd still shoot the ball...and miss.

That should rest my case right there.  But becuase those staements evoke some empathy from me i will attempt to explain.

The 5 players with a better shooting percentage would have shot even more poorly without DJ.  No one on the current team sans Jerel can create his own shot.  What would OOze's % be without DJ, not only would it be much worse but he would have fewer shots.  Fitz, Cubi, Lazar at this point cannot create their own shot. Lazar gets some nice putbacks etc., but cannot create otherwise Wes can struggles often times too.  Dj's shooting percentage suffers becuse unless he creates for these aforemntioned guys they cannot create therir own shots.  Therefore, there are many times in the offense that DJ has to create for himself, creating for one's self is infinitely more difficult and results in a lower shooting percentage than when someone else creates a shot for you.  Also, Crean has mentioned many mnay times that this team screened very poorly last year, making everything infinitely more difficult. Now you only look at shooting percentages and make your remarks., very telling.  8 seconds left in the shot clock not a good sitiaution for any team ...happens to MU alot becuase of everything mentioned above...our lack of true scorers.  That is guys that can really shoot or create for themselves.  Therefore, again 8 seconds left on the clock are we going to give the ball to Wes?,  Fitz?, Cubi?,  they will/would struggled mightly to get a shot off. Jerel can get his shot off but also turns the ball over at an alarming rate and shhots barely better than DJ.  Throw in the to's and DJ becomes the better option.  Therefore wether it is a wondeful option or not our team's best option at that point in the game is DJ.  Before DJ our best options were Wade, then Diener, then Novak, well those guys are in the NBA.  DJ is the best we have right now and while he is not Wade he is still our best option and some times will come thru for us in that incredibly difficult task of trying to score with the shot clock ticking down and some times he will not....which unfortunately is when people like you come on and say someone with a better percentage should be shooting the ball.  Maybe you should look at DJ's percentages early in the shot clock within the flow and then compare that to the shots his coach and team have called on him to take late in the clock...they might have a teendency to bring down his average?...or does that not fit your argument?  Maybe maybe OOze at 59% should take all those shots...or better yet Kuphall he shot 1.000 last year!!

[NCMUFan]

Shooting percentages don't come close to measuring the total value of a player to a team.  It wasn't us that gave or nominated DJ for the awards.  It was the coaches DJ played against and the sportswriters that watched him.  I would consider these individuals as better judges as to the level of a competitor DJ is and his value to the team.

[Harrison]

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