Texas junior point guard Isaiah Taylor will enter this year’s draft but hold off on hiring an agent, a source told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 6’3″ 21-year-old is the 66th-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings but Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him at only No. 151. Taylor will have a chance to gauge which projection is more accurate as he works out for NBA teams and perhaps take part in the NBA combine over the next several weeks, but he’ll be able to retain his college eligibility as long as he withdraws by May 25th and doesn’t hire an agent.
Taylor was 47th in Ford’s rankings and 76th in Givony’s when he decided against entering the draft last year, as we noted at the time. The Hayward, California, native showed improvement in just about every statistical category this season, averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 assists and 1.8 turnovers per game. His shooting also improved, to 42% from the floor and 30.6% from behind the arc, but his jumper could still use some work, Ford notes.
He wasn’t ranked in the top 100 of the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school in 2013, but he’s started every game he’s played at Texas. He set a career high with 35 points in January against Texas Tech.
Taylor is talented, but needs to improve. He would benefit from another year at Texas.