mike-taylor Mike Taylor - The Draft Review portland Mike Taylor - The Draft Review

Strengths: Explosive athlete with great quickness and leaping ability … Taylor loves to push the ball down the court at full speed, which enables him to use his quickness and creativity on finishes … Gets separation at will thanks to his quick first step and change of speed ball handling … Flashy point guard with great confidence in his abilities … Has three point range on his jumper … Once in the lane Taylor uses his long arms, athleticism and body control to convert difficult finishes … If the defense collapses on his drive to the basket, Taylor uses his court vision to dish the ball off … Defensively, he has all the physical tools to develop into an elite defender with his aggressiveness, quick hands, long arms and tremendous lateral movement … This allows him to apply very heavy pressure on most opposing guards … Plays passing lanes for quick steal opportunities … Does a good job of creating contact on drives to the basket … Above average rebounder for his size thanks to his long arms and athleticism … Despite being the age of most college seniors, Taylor still has a great deal of potential left to develop … Court vision is above average for most point guards … Seems to have that killer instinct to keep dominating no matter the outcome of the score … Level of competition is extremely high as the NBDL allowed him to play against numerous 1st round picks and former NBA veterans …

Weaknesses: Despite his ability to get in the lane, Taylor lacks any real resemblance of a mid-range game … Some of this could be due to his inconsistent shooting from the perimeter … Can get so caught up in the moment that he can be out of control on drives to the basket … Has a bit of a quick temper as his body language and facial expressions during the season displayed some frustration with teammates … Clearly not as efficient running an offense in a half court set … Point guard qualities are questionable as he has a tendency to be selfish and passes only when he seems to be forced, such as when the defense collapses … Could stand to add a good deal of weight to his slight frame … His lack of upper body strength prevents him from finishing after contact occurs … Prone to being flashy at the most inconvenient times when simplicity would be better - this is often the reason for his turnovers … Plays without limits in that he doesn’t understand what his role or limitations are as a player … Perimeter defense can be a little inconsistent as he gambles quite a bit going for steals, which enables his assignment to beat him before he can recover … Shot selection can be questionable at times … Had some legal run-ins during his junior season with Iowa State which led him to be kicked off the team, but to his credit, both his NBDL coach and former coach at Iowa State have said that he is a solid person and has matured significantly …

Matthew Maurer - 6/23/08

Statistics

SEASONS

GP

FG%

3PT%

FT%

SPG

BPG

RPG

APG

PPG

2004-05 Chipola JC.

31

46.6

12.5

72.8

0.6

0.1

3.5

1.9

6.9

2005-06 Chipola JC.

33

47.6

39.6

64.2

1.8

0.2

5.5

3.5

12.5

2006-07 Iowa State

31

37.6

36.0

68.2

1.1

0.1

4.1

4.5

16.0

2007-08 Idaho (D-League)

39

48.2

33.8

70.7

1.2

0.2

3.5

4.3

14.5

D-League Totals

39

48.2

33.8

70.7

1.2

0.2

3.5

4.3

14.5

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