Washington Huskies Basketball: Jahmel Taylor Visiting UW For First Time
Percy Allen just reported this morning that Washington Class of 2013 signee Jahmel Taylor is visiting Seattle this week, meaning that he will be seeing for the first time the school that he has already committed to attend. Certainly a change from the players that take all their official visits and all their unofficial visits, even to schools they have no intention of attending, but it definitely shows a lot of trust on Taylor’s part in not only Coach Romar, but also the research that he must have done on the program and the school in order to feel comfortable verbally committing on January 21st and signing scholarship papers April 17th without ever stepping foot on campus. In my experience, most regular high school seniors aren’t comfortable making a final college decision without making a visit to the school’s campus, and they’re not committing to both a university and an athletic program that could go a long way in determining if they have a future in their sport.
Not to say I’m worried for Taylor, or second guess his decision. Washington is a wonderful place to live and to attend school, and Romar runs a great program. It seems that for the 5’11” 160-pound guard out of Los Angeles, it could be an especially good fit, given Romar’s success in sending under-6′ guards to the NBA (a couple sites list Taylor at 6′ flat, but I’m guessing that if more than half of the sources peg him at 5’11”, he’s probably no taller than that).
Taylor also seems to be bringing a very straight forward, business-like attitude with him up to Seattle, which I think bodes well for his chances of succeeding in his time at Washington. “I’m really looking forward to meeting up with the players and seeing what goes on at school,” Taylor said. “I just want to see the community. From my research, it’s a great community. People are really into the Husky Nation. And I’m really excited about meeting the players. They seem like great guys. I’m looking forward to meeting them in person and actually getting to know them better.”
As discussed in this post from a few days ago discussing Darin Johnson and the rest of the incoming players, Taylor is one of the least heralded members of the 2013 class that includes Nigel Williams-Goss, Johnson, and JUCO transfer Mike Anderson. However, he is a solid three-star recruit according to Rivals, Scout, and ESPN, and what limited video I’ve seen of his play has shown a guard that scores creatively from just about anywhere on the floor (including some dangerously deep threes), and even if Taylor seems likely to redshirt in his first year (though that’s just my assessment from looking at the roster, not anything Romar has indicated), that doesn’t mean there won’t be a demand for that kind of scoring prowess down the road.
Hopefully Taylor enjoys his visit this week, and hopefully the Husky faithful enjoy Taylor’s contributions on the court in year’s to come.