Saturday, July 26th, 2008, filed in Summer Championships
When it comes to his hieght, this young man get’s overlooked, that is until
he steps on the basketball court.
Standing at 5-foot-4, Ray Taylor of Florida has had to earn his keep every
step of the way.
“It’s been hard but nothin good comes easy and to honest with you, I like it
better that way,” said Taylor.
Taylor played extremly well at this year’s Reebok All-American Camp where he
was my pick as the MVP of the championship game. As if being vertically
challenged wasn’t enough, Taylor has scraped for playing time for years on
his own AAU team, Team Breakdown, who by the way has the best backcourt in
the country (Kenny Boynton & Brandon Knight) not to mention Pe’Shon Howard
(one of the top guards in the 2010 class).
Thus far in Team Breakdown’s performance as a team in this year’s Reebok
Summer Championships, Taylor has played very well, coming off the bench to
contribute scoring and floor general leadership to his team. Taylor was
instrumental in the big win that Team Breakdown had against one of the most
feared backcourts in the country, Abdul Gaddy & Avery Bradley of the
Northwest Panthers.
In my opinion, Taylor is the most intriguing player that I’ve seen all
summer and as small as he is, he’s such an impact player. Each time that
I’ve watched Taylor play, whether it was at the RBK AAC or with his AAU
team, Ray has gotten his team going either by getting to the basket, by
dishing to a teamate or getting a steal and getting a fast break started.
When pressed, Taylor (”Ray-Ray” as his teamates call him) is a one-man press
breaker, escpecially at the end of games for example, when the NW Panthers
were losing to Team Breakdown with just under two (2) minutes to play in the
game. With the NW Panthers in desparate need of a steal or foul, Ray took
control and displayed his unbelievable speed, quickness and ballhandling
ability. By doing so, Ray was able to waste over a minute off the clock
before the NW Panthers were able to commite a foul.
I will say this, whomever signs Ray Taylor, whether it’s a mid major or high
major, they will not be disappointed. So don’t let his heigth fool you!
Here’s a look at five schools that have high interest in Taylor: Florida
Atlantic University, UAB, Tennessee Tech, University of San Fransisco and
Duquesne.
July 25, 2008
Jeff Meadows
Arizona Preps
Related posts:- Reebok Summer Championships set to get underway The Reebok Summer Championships is set to get underway Tuesday,...
- Team Championship Pictures from Reebok Summer Championships We had a great time at the Reebok Summer Championships...
- Wazoo Sports to Broadcast Reebok’s Summer Basketball Championship We’re excited to announce that Wazoo Sports will be working...
- Too Much Kenny Boynton at Reebok Summer Championships This year’s annual and most exciting event of the year,...
- 2008 Reebok Summer Championships Pictures from Day 2 The excitement and energy were great at day 2 of...
This entry was posted
on Saturday, July 26th, 2008 at 3:12 am and is filed under Summer Championships.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
Loading ...
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I really appreciate honesty. I feel the same way about your comments. Raymond is a great basketball player. He is a great ball handler and just in case people doubt his ability to shoot, doubt no more! He is a little shorter than most basketball players in height, but by no means is he short in his game! THANKS FOR RECOGNIZING MY NEPHEW FOR HIS GOD GIVEN TALENT AND HARD WORK !
August 5th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I must agree with Auntie Kee Kee, Raymond is an excellent ball player. The passion that Ray Ray has for the game is incredible. He is a team player and has such a drive when on the court. I once asked Raymond, “what makes you play at the end of a game as hard as you do at the beginning of a game whether winning of loosing?” His response was short and sweet, he said, “I Love the Game.” I do appreciate the recognition given to my nephew and pray that he will continue to be recognized for his abilities!