BEVO BEAT Men's Basketball
Texas G Isaiah Taylor sidesteps questions about his future
Posted March 19th, 2016
OKLAHOMA CITY — Texas junior Isaiah Taylor sidestepped questions about his future late Friday after a heart-breaking 75-72 loss to Northern Iowa in the NCAA Tournament.
Last spring, Taylor agonized about whether he should return for his junior season. Now, those inside the program believe Taylor will jump into the NBA draft after posting career high numbers in scoring, shooting and assists.
“Now, I’m not even thinking about that,” said Taylor, who was bothered by plantar fasciitis this season. “Going into this year, one of my main reasons for coming back was to make a deep run in the tournament. That got cut short.
“But for our seniors — Javan, Prince, Connor, D-Holland, Danny, Cam Ridley — we wanted to do this for them,” he added. “We know how much they love this team and how much we love coach (Shaka) Smart and wanted to do this for him. He made us feel that respect for him.”
NCAA officials recently pushed back the deadline to announce whether a player wants to declare for the draft. Players can go through individual workouts with teams and get feedback on their draft status.
According to the new NCAA guidelines, players have until May 25 to decide whether to stay or go pro. That allows players to go through the NBA scouting combine 10 days prior.
“It is what it is,” Taylor said. “Make a decision when I make it. But at this time, it’s all about my team.”
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