This is from my friend Jared who is an avid Badger fan decides to join us. After finally getting called out by Charlie, I decided that I would finally write a SNOTAP Free Write Friday article. I have always enjoyed the site so thought I’d give it a chance. So here it goes.
When talking about pre-season college basketball with Charlie last semester, I would have to first admit that I was skeptical about this year’s Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team. I thought they would probably finish around fourth or fifth place in the Big Ten behind the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and maybe even Illinois. I also thought they probably make the NCAA Tournament as a 10 seed and be knocked out of the tourney after the first round (Best case scenario: maybe make the second round and then lose by 18 to an Ivy League school). These predictions all came from the idea that the Badgers did not have a clear number one to fall on when it mattered the most.
I felt this way because I didn’t think the young junior point guard Jordan Taylor had the mentality or skills to become a number one type of player and also because of the concern that Jon Leuer has never really stepped up to the stage in his career as the Badgers main go-to-guy. My personal opinion is that Jon Leuer possess the skills of a gifted athlete with great size and agility but I truly believe Badgers fan can agree that he has never really shown his desire or capability of taking over any game night in and night out for a full forty minutes (Side note: I didn’t think any other player on the team for that matter could either…Sorry Tim Jarmusz). This topic on Leuer can be another discussion but that is not my main point.
My main point was that I was nervous about the Badgers season because every Badger team I have witnessed (Even as team orientated as they are) has always had some type of player the team relied on when times got tough (Kirk Penny, Devon Harris, Alando Tucker, Trevon Hughes and etc). This idea frame made it look like this was going to be the first year that a Badgers team was going to be without that type of player. And now, let’s talk about Jordan Taylor.
Charlie could probably be the first to pay tribute to my quote about Taylor before start of the season, “Taylor is good but he is not a guy who can take over the game or make the big shot. I’d rather still have Trevon Hughes. At least he wasn’t afraid to try to take over a game.” Now before people go crazy about what I said, let’s just remember that Trevon has won Badger nation numerous games over the years. Yes, I can see the agreement already that he has probably lost as many games for the Badgers over the years but at least he was a guy who wasn’t afraid to fill that role. Hughes dropped 25 points in his junior year at the 2008 NCAA Tourney against Kansas State and also hit two game-winners in his senior year against Virginia Tech and the opening 2009 NCAA Tourney game against Florida State (A personal favorite). These are just a few of games that Hughes played a major factor in the team’s success due to his desire to take the game over when he was needed most. To be honest, I was afraid that the departure of Trevon and Jason Bohannon (my all-time favorite Badger) would be a tough transition for Taylor’s junior year and the Badgers 2010-2011 season.
Fast Forward to now. Boy was I wrong about Jordan Taylor; plain and simple. I always thought Taylor was an average point guard that didn’t make dumb decisions and made the shots that were expected to be made. In his short career with the Badgers, I never thought he would be capable of what he is doing today. The sophomore Jordan Taylor compared to the junior Jordan Taylor is absolutely a completely different player. Check out the states from year to year:
- Sophomore year Taylor is averaging a stat line as follows: 10 ppg. 3.2 reb. 3.6 ast and shooting .395 from the field.
- Junior year Taylor is averaging a stat line as follows: 18 ppg. 4.4 reb. 4.8 ast and shooting .464 from the field.
Now, these stats don’t exactly jump out on paper but they do on the court. Taylor has taken control of this Badger team and I can finally say that “Jordan Taylor is hands down the Badgers go-to-guy” (Chuck might even make this his Twitter post for this week). Yes, I will admit that I have a man-crush on Jon Leuer but the guy is not the type of player who takes the last shot for you. Sure he can get you double-digit points every game but he is best suited as the second-fiddle (For example: I feel Leuer is a way-way better version of what Marcus Landry was for the Badgers. A good player who played crucial roles when times needed him but never developed as the team’s main go-to-guy).
Overall, I think that there is no denying that Leuer is a beast but he fits the role of Robin better than Batman; and his batman is now Jordan Taylor. Bo Ryan’s teams have always had a solid one-two punch. Examples as follows: Kirk Penny-Devon Harris, Harris- Alando Tucker, Alando Tucker-Kammrom Taylor, Marcus Landry- Trevon Hughes, Trevon Hughes- Jon Leuer, Jordan Taylor- Jon Leuer. The list can go on and on but with that said; both Luer and Taylor play major roles for the team. This method has historically worked for the Badgers since the arrival of Bo Ryan so why change it now.
I would like to finish this post by stating my formal regret that I never fully believed in Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin Badger. Not only was I wrong about the team, I was wrong about Taylor. He is and has developed into the player who will take over the game for you when needed. I am looking forward to seeing the one-two punch of Taylor-Leuer take the Badgers into the NCAA Tournament.
Jared
