Kansas City guard can play either backcourt spot

THE RIVALS150: Class of 2014 - Class of 2015

GRANDVIEW, Mo. -- As one of the top available players in the Midwest, things are going pretty well for Tyrone Taylor. The three-star guard has been playing with a relaxed confidence and eclipsed a current NBA player's school record. Soon, he'll get more serious about picking a spot to play his college ball.

Initially, Taylor had hoped to sign in the fall. However, the 6-foot-2 combo guard at Grandview (Mo.) High in the Kansas City area decided to wait until spring. After putting early pressure on himself, the southpaw has relaxed and his game has blossomed.

"I'm glad that things have kind of slowed down a little bit so I can focus on my season," Taylor told Rivals.com. "I was really stressed out at the beginning of the season. If you were here you would have seen it because I was so worried about playing well. Since I've relaxed, my game has gone to the next level."

While leading his team to an undefeated conference record, Taylor has also set Grandview's all-time scoring record. The record was previously held by current Utah Jazz shooting guard Alec Burks who keeps in touch with the new record holder.

"I actually texted him last weekend and was talking stuff to him," Taylor said. "It just shows that I have talent and hopefully I can be just as good as him.

"He always says to believe in yourself because just like it did for him, it can happen."

Long, quick and capable of getting into the paint and setting up himself or others for shots, Taylor has become much more steady as an outside jump shooter. He's also used his ability to move his feet and long arms to turn a previous deficiency into a strength.

"I've improved my defense," said Taylor. "I feel like I struggled early in high school with my defense and I feel like I've picked it up a whole lot.

"I am what I am. I'm more of a combo guard. I think what makes me special is the things that I can do at the point guard and then also being able to play as a shooting guard."

So far, college interest for Taylor has been all over the board between mid- and high-major programs. Among those who have been in contact or in to see him recently are Kansas State, Texas Tech, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Florida International, Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois.

For now, Taylor is focusing on ending his high school career on a high note. His team needs one more win to finish its conference record undefeated and after that, it is looking to make a run in Missouri's class 4A playoffs. When it comes time to decide on a school, though, he has pretty simple criteria.

"Like I tell coaches when they ask, I obviously want to go a winning program. My teammates in high school, we are like a family. So i want to go to a program that is more of a family than a team and somewhere that I can develop my game and take it to the next level."

Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.

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