Isaiah Taylor Needs To Remain In College For Another Season

Earlier in the week, Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation reported the news that the Texas Longhorns sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor would forgo his final two years or collegiate eligibility in hopes of making the jump to the NBA:

"“I’m sad to relay news from a reliable source that Isaiah Taylor will forgo his remaining two years of college eligibility and enter the 2015 NBA Draft. There’s no official word on Taylor’s decision yet, but I’m told Taylor’s mind is made up. I’d love for this to be wrong, but I’m reporting this for a reason. He thinks he’s ready. Prominent evaluators in Houston think he’s ready. And that’s that.”"

Within minutes of the reports that sent Texas fans and reporters into a frenzy on Twitter, Taylor made his own statement on the reports that his time at Texas had drawn to a close.

I don't where this information is coming from , but I have not declared for anything. False information
— Isaiah Taylor (@Zay_Ctmd11) April 6, 2015

After the initial denial came from Taylor, Burnt Orange Nation updated their column and went on to make a very viable point from Taylor’s statement:

"“Notice that Taylor doesn’t actually respond to the report — he says that he hasn’t declared for anything, which is true. The report here isn’t that he has declared for the draft, but that he will declare for the draft. In that sense, his denial is similar to the proclamations made by recruits like Ryan Newsome and P.J. Locke when news broke that they would sign with the Longhorns. Both denied that the reports, then ended up doing so.”"

Of course, nothing is set in stone until Taylor officially declares, but based on these reports, it would appear that we’ve seen the last of Taylor in burnt orange and to put it simply; Taylor isn’t ready for the NBA and would benefit tremendously from another year in Austin.

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Taylor entered his sophomore campaign with the realistic expectations of emerging into of the premier point guards in all of college basketball. These expectations were derailed by an early-season wrist injury led to a 10-game absence and ultimately, a void in team chemistry that affected Taylor and the Longhorns as a whole, whose disappointing season wrapped up with a second round NCAA Tournament loss to Butler.

Whether the blame for what became a rollercoaster season for Taylor falls on his injury, the team’s struggles or him simply hitting a sophomore slump, there’s very little argument, if any, that Taylor fell well below the heightened hopes he built off of his freshman.

Yet, the reports from reliable sources still claim that Taylor feels he is inevitably ready to make the jump to the NBA.

The truth is…he’s not.

Most kids decide to take an early exit from their education due to a projected draft stock that would be foolish to pass up on and the near certainty that an NBA roster spot awaits them for the upcoming season. If Taylor is to ultimately make the announcement that his time at Texas is finished before the Apr. 26 deadline to declare, his draft stock is likely far from the reason he’s making the jump.

In fact, Taylor wasn’t included in Draft Express’s latest mock draft at all, which raises questions about the realistic possibility, or lack thereof, that he finds himself on an NBA roster for the beginning of the 2015-16 season.

Jan 10, 2015; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Phil Forte III (13) and guard Anthony Hickey Jr. (12) combine to make the steal on Texas Longhorns guard Isaiah Taylor (1) during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

That reason alone serves as cause for a return to college basketball, but in addition to the very likely possibility that Taylor doesn’t hear his name called on draft night, there’s more than enough for him to improve upon and benefit from if he were to remain at Texas and run the show for Shaka Smart next season.

An initial glance at Taylor’s stats from last season could be a deceiving when assessing his 13.1 points and 4.6 assists per game. Despite the impressive numbers, Taylor wasn’t always the most consistent upon returning from his wrist injury with seven games where he failed to crack double figures in the scoring column, but most concerning were some of his shooting percentages, just like his 3-for-12 effort against Oklahoma and 5-for-16 against Iowa State.

He did have nights where he didn’t struggle as mightily, but on the season Taylor struggled to stay above 40 percent shooting at .401. When you consider he’s far from a consistent jump shooter and usually attacks near the rim, this number becomes concerning for a guy who took the majority of his shots within 13 feet of the rim.

At times, Taylor struggles to protect the ball and for whatever reason, his decision making and ability to set up his teammates and wasn’t always the most impressive. In a nutshell, Taylor didn’t look like the same player he was as a freshman. For whatever reason, after taking a step back from his first-year performance, Taylor seems to think he’s ready for the next level.

If we have, for certain, seen the last of Taylor at Texas, it’s very likely the only opportunities we’ll get to continue seeing him play will be for those of us who follow the D-League and overseas hoops, because Taylor simply cannot survive in the NBA as of now. Given another season and time to improve his shooting touch, decision-making and overall ability to run a high-level team, we probably have a much different story, but as of now, Taylor isn’t ready for the NBA.

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