Class Of 2009 Player Watch: John Taylor

January 24, 2008

7:30 A.M. CST

Talk about making a splash!  That is exactly what John Taylor, a 6'0 junior guard has done since making his high school basketball debut at North Lawndale High School in Chicago earlier this month.  The bottom line is that North Lawndale was already a very good team prior to Taylor's arrival.  With Taylor, North Lawndale is a powerhouse and one of the elite teams in the state of Illinois regardless of class.

Taylor transferred to North Lawndale from Lew Wallace High School in Gary, IN this past summer.  In his first game at North Lawndale, he helped orchestrate a 68-67 upset win over Whitney Young, which was most everyone's choice as the preseason #1 team in the state.  Since that time, Taylor has been on an absolute tear and has made statements in every game he has played.

Simply put, Taylor can score from virtually anywhere on the floor, whether it be pulling up from 3-point land, driving to the basket or in transition.  Taylor scored 16 points in the Whitney Young game and all of them came in the second half.  However, he was even more impressive when we watched him at the Martin Luther King Dream Classic, as he scored 25 points in leaded North Lawndale to a 82-61 rout of Curie.  Ten of those points were scored in the first three minutes of the contest.  Therefore, to say that Taylor can score points in a hurry is a gross understatement.

With all of that being said, Taylor has a lot more going for him than just his scoring ability.  We will even go as far as to say that he may have no weaknesses in his offensive game.  In addition to being able to shoot from beyond the arc, Taylor also has great speed and quickness which allow him to get to the goal with relative ease.  He is also an outstanding ball handler and passer.  To top everything off, Taylor plays with a high degree of confidence, perhaps to the point of cockiness.

On a team that is absolutely loaded with at least four D1 prospects, Taylor is hands down the best of the bunch.  We believe that at the present time he clearly ranks among the top five prospects in the state from the class of 2009.  At this point the only thing holding him back is academics, as he still has work to do in the classroom.  Nevertheless, Taylor is a player that we guarantee everyone is going to be hearing a lot more about in the future.

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