He's been a "near-star" for a year or two, capable of great things and also losing it occasionally too.
Tyshawn Taylor has been hammered by some in Kansas-land for turning the ball over too much and making bad decisions, which, unfortunately, has at times been true.
That said, Tyshawn Taylor can make as athletic a move as anyone in the country, and, in recent games, has been making more of them. Last night against a good Baylor team, he had 28 points, 6 assists, 10-14 shooting from 2 point range, and went 4-6 from 3.
I've been a Tyshawn fan for the past couple of years now. True, I do occasionally throw my hands in the air when Tyshawn turns it over, but I also throw them in the air when he does a double-dip-dooliwop reverse lay-up like he did last night.
As for his off-the-court "problems," all of them have to do with a guy having too much fun. Yes, he stirred up the fight between the football team and the basketball team back in 2009.
Apparently, the basketball team got the better of it, and, really, can you blame them for bragging a little? (Tyshawn was discussing the event on Facebook, which is how he got busted.) After that fight, the 5-0 football team promptly lost six games in a row.
As for one of his other little contretemps, if what I heard was true, you have to give the kid credit both for ingenuity in romance and for his team loyalty and devotion to tradition--in the sacred precincts of Allen Fieldhouse, for cryin' out loud.
The team is faster when Tyshawn is in there. He moves the ball and presses the attack. Sure, he's going to get some turnovers. With that fast style of play, at least some are bound to happen. Were his detractors as hard on Jacque Vaughn? The beloved Jacque Vaughn was out-of-control sometimes too, but, like Tyshawn, he was always pressing the attack.
Says Tyshawn, “I don’t want to feel like I’m just another player on the court. I want to be a threat. I want the defender that is guarding me to feel like when I have the ball that I can make something happen.”
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