The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns spotlight: Kenny Taylor
02.16.2005 | Men's Basketball
Of late, Texas basketball and three-point shooting have become synonymous. Brian Boddicker and Brandon Mouton have now become Daniel Gibson, Sydmill Harris, Kenton Paulino and Kenny Taylor. Sure these players' shooting abilities have helped the Longhorns win a few games over the years, but more importantly, coach Barnes relies on these shooters to defend and rebound. Kenny Taylor is doing just that.
Entering tonight's game, Taylor is averaging 4.2 rebounds per game and his defensive improvement has allowed him to play 27.5 minutes per game (up from 19.5 last season) in Big 12 Conference games.
"Some nights, my shot doesn't fall," said the senior guard. "Improving my defense and getting rebounds, along with my ball-handling, has allowed me to help my team even if I'm not hitting those shots."
True enough. During Big 12 play, Taylor's shot hasn't been as potent as Texas fans have been accustomed to, but it's been his defensive effort and ability to rebound that have kept him on the court a lot more than last season.
"We really tried to get Kenny to improve his on-the-ball defense," said Barnes. "He's done a great job rebounding, he has a good basketball mind and he's starting to show he can defend."
With Texas' top rebounder and defender over the last four years gone, the coaches have relied on their seniors to make up the difference. Sydmill Harris and Jason Klotz have both upped their minutes and roles. Kenny Taylor has been no different.
"Kenny basically went from being just a great shooter, when he came here, to being a tremendous passer, ball handler and solid defender now," said teammate Sydmill Harris.
Along with his improved rebounding and defensive play, Taylor's ball-handling skills and ability to set up the offense have come in to play, as well. Four times this season, Taylor has garnered five or more assists in a game and only Gibson has posted more assists in a game than the seven Taylor got earlier this season against Baylor.
"I'd like to be known as a solid shooter whether my shots are falling or not," said Taylor. "I've worked on my ability to drive the lane and create for my teammates and I understand what the defense is giving us and how to execute our offense."
Execution is the name of the game when it comes to the Texas coaching staff. Without defense, rebounding and ball-handling skills, Texas basketball isn't successful. Now, the same can be said of Taylor.
"Kenny has really worked at becoming a more complete player this season," said assistant coach Rodney Terry. "He's rebounding, putting the ball on the floor and driving into the lane and he's shown he can create for his teammates and get us into our offense."
Texas basketball will always be a solid three-point shooting team. The Longhorns enter tonight's game having connected on at least one trey in 467 consecutive games. But, Texas' success during Barnes' tenure has been based on solid rebounding and defense and Kenny Taylor continues to be a bigger part of that success with each game.
