Badgers' Taylor Shows Leadership in Many Ways
Mike DeCourcy - SportingNews.com
Feb 14, 2011
When Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan is asked about his point guard, he invariably focuses on what an extraordinary young man Jordan Taylor is.
And with good reason. Consider Taylor's reaction to the commotion that developed after:
A. He was left off the candidates list for the Cousy Award for point guards and the Naismith Award for player of the year, and;
B. He shredded Ohio State with a 27-point masterpiece that ended the Buckeyes' perfect season.
How did Taylor respond? He complimented the 10 point guards on the Cousy list, said they're all terrific. He declared teammate Jon Leuer belongs on the Naismith list ahead of him.
However much it might mean over the course of a season to have the leadership of a future president or governor -- which is how Ryan views Taylor -- NCAA Tournament games more often are won by difference-making players, future NBA pros. The Badgers haven't had a lot of those, which is why March generally ends in the Sweet 16, or earlier.
Taylor may be good enough to change that. Leuer is an NBA player, a 6-10 shooter who'll gladly rebound and guard his position. It is harder, though, to dominate from his position.
A point guard, Taylor averages 18.1 points, 4.8 assists and shoots 46 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range. He demonstrated in the Ohio State game he can be effective at the measured pace Wisconsin often plays and be even more of a threat stepping outside Ryan's swing offense to punish an opponent off a simple ball screen.
"That young man just absolutely took the game over," Ryan said following the game. "By him doing what he did, everybody else responded."
Taylor's brilliance worked at the Kohl Center against an elite opponent likely destined for a No. 1 seed. It can work in March, as well.
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