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Texas Basketball: Isaiah Taylor Is Key To Success In 2014-15

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By @CodyDanielRS

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Barnes’ Texas Longhorns were the pleasant surprise of the Big 12 last season, finishing with a 24-11 record after their 3rd round NCAA Tournament loss to the Michigan Wolverines. This was after many projected the Longhorns to conclude the season as one of the bottom-feeders in their own conference. Well, the season that turned out to make many of the professional’s predictions look terribly stupid was almost solely based on the unexpected breakout inaugural season by point guard Isaiah Taylor, which is who the Horns’ success is based on for the upcoming season as well.

During his freshman season, Taylor was second on the team in scoring at 12.7 per game while leading Texas in assists at four per game. But it’s not just the numbers that made this kid so special. Taylor played with fearlessness on nearly every possession and seemed to know exactly when to make the right pass or choose to take it upon himself and attack as a scorer. In addition to that, Taylor became a defensive presence on the perimeter that played as feisty as you could ask him to in a conference that featured some of the most explosive scoring guards in the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKPYgZ7CUHk

But as for the upcoming season, the pressure on Taylor’s shoulder will be much heavier and the eyes of the college basketball world will be much more centered on the Longhorns than they were last season.

Texas is entering the 2014-15 season as a preseason top-10 ranked team and features the nation’s No. 2 overall freshman to add to an already stacked front-court with tons of experience. Texas also has a backcourt that will allow Barnes to go about 10 or 11 deep into his rotation on any given night. This is the first place where Taylor has to show improvement in order to carry Texas to the promised land next season.

With so many scoring options with guys like Cameron Ridley, Javan Felix, Myles Turner, Jonathan Holmes and more, Taylor will have the responsibility of knowing how to find so many different scoring options in the best possible position all around the court. The Horns have the potential to be a great scoring team next season, but that all starts with the floor general and his ability to put the ball into the right hands at the right time.

At times, the right hands will be his own, which brings me to my next point of Taylor needed to expand his scoring arsenal as a sophomore.

Anyone who watched Texas basketball last season would know Taylor has a floater that’s as lethal as they come in college basketball and he seems to have perfected when and how to make it always work. Unfortunately, floaters and crafty layups are the extent of his offensive repertoire. A crucial piece to being able to find his teammates at the best possible time and opening up the floor for them would be adding a consistent jump shop and even a touch from the perimeter to make opponents have to respect him from anywhere on the court.

If opponents know Taylor can’t shoot, they could just sag off of him outside and play tighter on his supporting cast.

Of course, as the usual trend of freshmen taking significant strides will likely continue for Taylor’s sophomore season, it shouldn’t be an issue to see him improve in each of the aforementioned aspects of his game. But heading into a season that could play out as one of the most successful in the program’s history, these are changes that have to be made in order for Texas to live up to their hype, and it all falls on the shoulders of Taylor and his progression.

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