Tyrone Taylor Welcome to Shocker Nation!

[BOBB]

I thought he was the quick athletic guard that we needed, this is always disappointing.

I don't remember the exact quote, but HCGM should recite the "2 Things" mantra to each prospective PG every time they talk from recruiting to senior year.

[Ol skool]

I'm a KU grad and fan, but I followed Tyrone's high school career pretty closely, happening across him for the first time as a Freshman. You guys are landing an elite point guard. I really believe he's one of the 5 best incoming Freshman PG's in the country. This is a classic example of a kid being missed on by the recruiting services. I think Rivals is partially to blame. They are always very hesitant to rate KC kids (since they're based here and paranoid about the appearance of favortism.) However, he was also not treated fairly by his AAU program. They brought in an out of state rated Point Guard (who later committed to Colorado) and promised him he could play point. They played Tyrone at the two, because he could shoot. 6'3" shooting guards are a dime a dozen while 6'3" point guards with his handle and quickness are few and far between. In reality, Tyrone was a much more natural point guard.

So as not to be long winded here, I'll leave you with one more quick story. At the end of his Junior or Senior year at Grandview, they were a game away from going to the state tournament. I don't recall who they were playing but being a basketball junkie I decided to go and watch. While Grandview lost, Tyrone was double teamed constantly, with one kid doing nothing but faceguarding him the entire game. Whenever he had the ball, they would throw a third defender at him. He ended up with 34 or 36 points and, if memory serves, maybe 9 or 10 assits. Given the defense being thrown at him, it was possibly the best high school performance I've ever seen in person, to date. His team at Grandview had a number of good athletes, but none with even an average basketball IQ (other than Tyrone, who has an outstanding basketball IQ). His numbers would have been incredible if he had been surrounded by guys who understood the game of basketball, so defenses couldn't focus quite so much on him.

I would have loved to have seen Kansas go after him but I do think Bill Self can get a little too caught up on player ratings. His quickness is second to nobody in the class but the thing I loved most about him the first time I saw him was his court vision. He's not just a scoring guard, he does see the floor (which is why it is a shame he didn't get to play more point on his AAU team). With a little weight, you guys are going to have a very good player on your hands and one, given time, with NBA potential. Don't be surprised if he turns out to be the steal of the entire class. Luckily, you guys got his committment before the season and not after, or you would have been recruiting against the UK's, Louisvilles, Michigan States, etc.

Having Van Vleet ahead of him, he's going to have time to lift weights and add weight, and be brought along slowly. Hopefully, he can spell Van Vleet this year, and get familiar with the college game. In a couple of years I really believe you'll have one of the best PG's in the country. His game reminds me of the two guards on the 2013 Louisville championship team. Thin but ultraquick, and great court vision, with the added bonus of him being able to shoot. I'm envious of you guys for landing him. I hope he turns out to be a great player for WSU, and makes all of the recruiting services look like idiots.

Eye witness accounts great to hear and read nothing to hang your hat on.