Isaiah Taylor will skip the NBA draft and return to the University of Texas, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. Taylor is ranked 47th in Chad Ford’s list of the top 100 draft prospects. Jonathan Givony of Draftexpress.com had Taylor ranked 76th before he decided to bypass the draft.
The point guard, who will be a junior next season, will provide a nice asset for new coach Shaka Smart, who received a seven-year deal to coach the Longhorns earlier this month. As a sophomore, Taylor averaged 13.1 points and 4.6 assists per game, but missed most of non-conference play with a broken left wrist.
“Glad to be a Longhorn! Feels good,” Taylor posted in an Instagram message. “Looking to get this new era started. Love the guys on the team. Spending another year with my teammates and coaching staff is a great feeling.” (Hat tip to Raphielle Johnson of CollegeBasketballTalk.com).