Husky Basketball: Jahmel Taylor Commits to Washington

Lorenzo Romar has picked up another commitment for the Class of 2013, this time a point guard out of West Hollywood, California by the name of Jahmel Taylor. At 5’11” and 160 pounds, Taylor apparently plays with a scorer’s mentality, meaning that he could end up playing the two for the Huskies, regardless of how the recruiting services list him.

Taylor is not a super highly-rated player, with Rivals and Scout giving him three stars while ESPN gives him two, but he is a player who has been seeing his stock rise over the last few months. Rivals lists him as having offers from Colorado, USC, and Washington State, but his offer from Romar only came more recently, perhaps as a result of his progress over the course of his senior season.

This commitment adds to the two existing members of Washington’s Class of 2013, point guard Nigel Williams-Goss and shooting guard Darin Johnson. It appears that the Huskies have room to add one more player to the class, ideally five-star forward Aaron Gordon of Arch Bishop Mitty in San Jose if he does happen to choose the Huskies over Arizona and Kentucky.

Right now, I don’t really have any strong opinion on the news. While obviously a more highly-touted player, especially a power forward or center with an ability to score in the post, would have been nicer than a borderline three-star guard with minimal size, it isn’t as if Taylor takes the place of some star recruit that would have used the scholarship. There is still room for Aaron Gordon, and so this class will be judged on whether or not Romar is able to win the contest for his allegiance, but whether or not he ends up at Washington the presence of Taylor doesn’t hurt anything, and he has some potential, so I think it’s a positive move.