High Flyer Wants High Major Offer
These days, when a high school senior doesn't quite get the offer he feels he
deserves, a year or two in junior college could be an option. This appears to
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be the case with Dwight Taylor, a jumping-jack 6-3, 185 pound swingman from
Angleton (TX) HS in the Houston metropolitan area.
Taylor is an unstoppable scorer who can penetrate, pull-up, shoot it from long
range, or even post-up down low. While he has a wiry frame, he is an
electrifying leaper who also competed on Angleton's track team in the high
jump. This past season, Taylor averaged 28.3 points (over 31 points in league
play) while earning district MVP and offensive player of the year honors.
"Dwight has high-major skills in scoring," said Angleton HS Coach Paul Eubanks. "He's a big-time
scorer. He had 70 dunks and shot 40% from the three-point line. He's quick
and jumps well."
But Taylor does need to improve on the other side of the ball.
"The only thing is he's not a high-major defensive player," he said. "That's
why the high majors weren't recruiting him."
Thus during the season, schools such as UNC-Wilmington, Wichita State,
Southwest Texas, Stephen F. Austin, South Alabama, and Arkansas-Little Rock
were in contact with Taylor. In fact, some tentative visits were scheduled
this spring. But Taylor recently cancelled his visits.
"I think I can get a better offer," said Taylor.
Instead, Taylor is looking at going the junior college route. According to
Eubanks, the JCs that have been in contact with Taylor (in-state schools such
as Lee, Navarro, and Kilgore, and out-of-state programs such as Hutchinson and
Chipola) have been telling him they could get high-major schools such as those
in the Big 12 interested, if he can play at a high level. In fact, how long he
stays in JC will depend on his academic eligibility.
"If I qualify, I'll go for just one year. Otherwise, two," said Taylor.
Taylor is close to qualifying. With his current ACT score of 17, all Taylor
needs to do is get Bs in two of his classes this semester to pass the core GPA
requirement on the sliding scale. According to Eubanks, Taylor is on track to
accomplish this - which puzzles him a bit why Taylor would proactively choose
to go the JC route instead of pursing some of the mid-major opportunities in
front of him, even if he doesn't qualify.
"He's buying into what they're saying," he said, noting that he thinks that
Taylor feels that he was under-recruited.
Nevertheless, Eubanks supports Taylor's decision whichever way he decides. Be
sure to stay tuned to where this talented scorer will play ball in the fall.
Jed Tai is a senior writer for Hoopville.com.