Jeffery Taylor

Strengths

Taylor is a 6'7" wing, blessed with great athleticism. On top of his lengthy frame, his body looks as if he should be able to put on weight without a problem. His freakish leaping ability and quickness make scouts drool over the Taylor's attributes… He excels in transition and in isolation, when he is able to utilize his athleticism to the fullest… With his quick first step and his lengthy strides, Taylor is routinely able to beat his man off the dribble and get into the lane… Taylor has shown the ability to take smaller defenders into the post and score around the paint area. He has nice footwork and a quick, baseline spin move that leave defenders behind. But even this post game needs to be fine-tuned… Has shown glimpses of being an a decent passer, but possess poor court vision and decision making at times… Taylor fits well in Vanderbilt's "Princeton-style" offense. He works well with the amount of cuts, backdoors and open looks. When he gets into the paint off of cuts, he has shown good body control, and draws contact well- getting to the line about five times a contest… Taylor is an excellent defensive player. Not only does he have the physical tools, but he also possesses the desire to use them. He stays low in his defensive stance and slides well, staying in front of his man. Even for a 6'7" wing, Taylor has great lateral quickness… He is a strong rebounder- both offensively and defensively. He shows the desire to go and get rebounds, while in the air, instead of letting the balls come to him… Still has room to grow in all areas of his game…

Weaknesses

Taylor does not have great ball-handling abilities… He is a poor outside shooter. He is shooting under 15% from the college 3-point line. Imagine the damage he will do while trying to hit from the 23'9" NBA 3-point line. He has shown a slow release on his jumper, as if he doesn't think he should be shooting the ball. He also struggles with shooting the ball off of the dribble, which has hindered Taylor's effectiveness on his drives… With his average handle, Taylor also lacks developed ball moves. Because of these two factors, he struggles to create his out shot… Taylor needs to develop his left hand, which should aid in the development of his ball-handling… Would benefit from another year in school…