OC's Jason Taylor's resume incomplete
BY MATT PATTERSON
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Published: November 11, 2009
Jason Taylor has been through five years of basketball practices, countless games and more than a few tournaments, but the Oklahoma Christian senior never gets sick of any of it.
Taylor was the
Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a junior after he averaged 23.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He was also an NAIA fist team All-American.
So what’s left for the Edmond North product to prove?
"I haven’t won a national championship yet,” Taylor said. "I’d give up all the individual awards for that. It’s our ultimate goal.”
Taylor is feeling a sense of urgency. Nobody is picking OC to win a national championship. The Eagles aren’t even picked to win the SAC. But OC made the NAIA tournament last year and could play the role of the under the radar team that shakes things up.
"The urgency is there because it’s my last year,” Taylor said. "Like it says in the Bible, life is like a vapor. I was sitting in Eric Randall’s (red shirt freshman) shoes five years ago and now I’m a senior. It goes by too fast.”
Too fast for OC coach
Dan Hays who said Taylor is as fundamentally sound as player can get. But what impresses Hays most is Taylor’s ability to work on getting better, even when he doesn’t have to.
"All his goals are team,” Hays said. "He’s that kind of a guy. He wants to get better. He wants to rebound better and for his percentages to go up. He’s a hard worker who is dedicated. He’s unusual in this day when kids just play when the clock comes on. He’ll play with a ball and an empty gym.”
And whether or not Taylor plays beyond this level is an easy question for Hays to answer. He believes there’s no doubt, though it might not be as a starter in the
NBA. NBA teams have called seeking basic background information. There has been interest from overseas teams as well.
"He’s not ready to sit behind a computer for eight hours a day,” Hays said.
But Taylor can’t quite bring himself to think about any of that just yet.
"It’s way back in my mind,” he said. "It’s an honor to have interest but at the same time I don’t like talking about it. I want to play longer. Everyone tells me to play this game as long as I can and I will. I’m surprised my body has held up as well as it has after five years in the SAC.”
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