'09 IL PG/SG Diamond Taylor is not a Badger anymore

[Heavystarch]

Diamond Taylor - Basketball Recruiting
Scout.com: Diamond Taylor Profile



Westchester (IL) St. Joseph's
AAU: Illinois Wolves

HT: 6'3"
WT: 155

Originally Posted by ESPN

Diamond Taylor is as good an offensive guard as you can find in the 2009 class. He can score off the dribble, off screens, by shooting the 3 and by getting to the rim. Taylor has good ball skills and create his own shot at any time. He plays for a great high school coach and has clearly been taught how to play the game. Taylor's limitations are all because of his physical weakness. At 150lbs., Taylor needs to work on his body to be able to become an effective college player. When watching him play, you know he can get things done, you just question how he will hold up over a full year at the highest level of college basketball. There is no denying his ability and as long as he continues to develop his body, Taylor can play just about anywhere.

Rankings:
#14 SG and the #67 Player in the country by Rivals
#85 best player in his class per Van Coleman
#2 player in Illinois by Chicago Hoops
#1 player in Illinois by City/Suburban Hoops Report

Offers: Wisconsin, Illinois, Norte Dame, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Bradley, Arizona St., Iowa

[Heavystarch]

Slightly dated, but interesting

St. Joseph stops Wheaton North in tourney final :: Wheaton Sun :: Sports

11/30/07

Taylor and teammate David Dixon pushed St. Joseph's over previously unbeaten Wheaton North. Taylor was named to the all tournament team and scored 19 in the final.

[Heavystarch]

Locker Room Prep Talk: Diamond in the rough


12/13/07

Could Taylor be another Isiah Thomas?
"Ask me that question a year from now," Pingatore said. "He has the tools to do that. But he needs to get stronger and bulk up. And he's just starting to play better defense.
"I've been coaching for 39 years and the fun of coaching is to watch these kids come in and emerge as future superstars. Taylor is that good. He has a bright future. I think his improvement in the next two years will be phenomenal."

[OnWisconsin07]

Just noticed that Diamond Taylor has moved Wisconsin up to "High Interest" on his Scout Profile. Also read on another board that a source has stated that Diamond may commit soon. I am all for getting Diamond as a Badger. How do you guys feel?

Question: How are these profiles monitored and who has access to them to change them? Does the player control them? Just looking for a general description on how scouting profiles work?

In a related question.....from his Gopherhole interview, it appears that Rodney does not actually have an offer, but his profiles report that he does.....what is going on here?

[Bernini]

I'm ready for a playmaker like Diamond. You need bigs and guys who do the dirty work, but I have a hard time getting excited for those players. I enjoy the smaller, quicker players who can get wherever they want on the court offensively, and hound you defensively.

According to Rodney, the Badgers are still supposed to offer in the future. So in his mind, it's a done deal. I think that the specifics were either lost in translation between him and his recruiter originally or between him and the rivals reporter. There's also the technicalities between a verbal and writter offer. Sometimes an assistant coach recommends an offer but he and the head coach see eye to eye. Of course coaches can't talk to the media directly regarding any recruit, so reporters are dependent upon the perceptions of 15-18 year olds. Those are a few reasons why discrepancies are relatively common.

Recruits don't have access to their profiles. A reporter gets information from a recruit and they in turn either alter the profile themselves, or relay the information to someone who has that liberty.

Back to Diamond Taylor, here are some video clips:

SJ vs Simeon - Diamond Taylor "And 1" on Vimeo

SJ vs Simeon - Diamond Taylor Pull-Up Jumper on Vimeo

SJ vs Simeon - Diamon Taylor Break and McCamey Steal and Shot on Vimeo

[Bernini]

JS Online

Diamond Taylor commits to Wisconsin
By Mark Stewart

Thursday, Mar 6 2008, 11:53 PM

Madison - The Wisconsin Badgers secured their second verbal commitment for the Class of 2009 Thursday night when Diamond Taylor, a guard from St. Joseph's High School in suburban Chicago decided to join the program.
Taylor, who is 6-feet 4 inches tall and about 165 pounds, said he chose UW after receiving offers from Arizona State, Bradley, Illinois, Iowa, Marquette, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame and Southern Illinois. He said Kentucky and Virginia were showing a lot of interest.
Key to his decision was the relationship he developed with UW assistant coach Howard Moore and head coach Bo Ryan. It was a sentiment echoed by his father, Kimrossi.
"They just kept everything professional and they showed they were family oriented," Kimrossi Taylor said. "They showed a lot of sincerity with Diamond."
Diamond Taylor said the Badgers recruited him as someone who could play both guard positions. He views himself as similar to Devin Harris in build and aspires to become that caliber of player.
"That's the kind of player I want to turn myself into," Taylor said.
Taylor is the second commitment the Badgers have received in the last month. Mike Bruesewitz, a 6-foot-7 forward from Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, Minn. committed on Feb. 19.
The Badgers are expected to have three scholarships available for the 2009.

Perfect compliment to Jordan Taylor and our other guards. We badly needed a combo guard who could shoot and that describes Diamond well. Secure a studly wing, which we'll have a year to accomplish, and this will be a great class.

[komacki]

Awesome. I wonder what prompted his decision to commit right now? Do you think he was watching how much fun the Badgers had during and after the game Wednesday night?

The Badgers won't really need him during his freshman year, but he'll be counted on to play the point when Jordan needs a rest during 2010-11. That gives him plenty of time to get used to Bo's system and improve his game in Madison. He may even decide to redshirt with Hughes, Bohannon, Taylor, and Wilson ahead of him.

"Secure a studly wing, which we'll have a year to accomplish, and this will be a great class." - You mean one year and one day? : ) (It's too bad Wilson got eliminated from the state playoffs, if he hadn't he could have celebrated his mom's birthday AND possibly winning the state championship by committing on Saturday).

"We badly needed a combo guard who could shoot and that describes Diamond well." - fixed it for you

[Bernini]

I'm not meticulous when it comes to details. I'm more of a main idea guy. I'll get confused again if Jamil Wilson commits......when I'll refer to him as Robert.

I'm pretty sure DIAMOND is an inner city kid. I doubt he gets the Big Ten Network. Hell, I just got it a couple weeks ago. However, momentum on the basketball court naturally breeds success in recruiting off it. We have a lot of momentum winning 20 of 22 or whatever (like I said I'm not keen on details) and also coming off a 30 win season. We better be able to land recruits of his caliber or these kids aren't doing their homework. Still, it's an event when their commitments come to fruition, because they're no slam dunk with the reputation of Wisconsin the media perpetuates.

[OnWisconsin07]

This made my day...week.....month! I was big on Diamond Taylor all along. What a great land for Wisconsin!!!

I can't wait to watch him in a Badger uniform!

[Heavystarch]

Our backcourt finally seems back to normal with the, dare I say it, "Taylor Twins". If only we had the "Wilson Brothers" to man the wing positions....

All in all just a great day to be alive

[komacki]

If Bo keeps up at this pace in a few years the anouncers will be going Taylor Taylor Taylor Wiiiiiiiiilson! Wiiiiiiiiiilson! as the Badgers are going through the swing offense. (That's to the tune of Badger Badger Badger Snaaaaaake!)

Should I be really excited about Diamond? I like the commit because he's pretty much exactly what Wisconsin will need in a couple years. But he's only a three star, though from what I'm hearing on here it looks like he might be underrated a bit. Bo seems to find those guys all the time.

[Heavystarch]

you're better than to get caught up in the stars

... but he is a four star on rivals

His stock has been up and down, becoming really highly touted after his summer aau season, but then has faded, as he hasn't been as dominant as some thought during his high school season. St Josephs is a powerhouse, having McCamey's little brother still there, so he doesn't need to put up 30 every night. He was a priority from the start, and I have little reason to doubt Bo finding a "gem"

[OnWisconsin07]

Oh gosh....not the stars talk. Rivals and scout don't always line up lets remember.

I think the biggest indicator of how good this kid is are the posts and reports people write up that watch him play. For example, this quote taken from Josh Hendrickson of the City Hoops Report:

After watching Taylor for two days at the Illinois Satellite Camp at Moody Bible Institute, Taylor showed he is without question the most complete scorer in the junior class. He has a beautiful stroke and rotation on his shot from three-point range, has already developed a mid-range game with a nice pull-up jumper for a prospect with his amount of experience and, despite his slight build, he's not afraid to take it to the basket.

It's obvious that Taylor needs to bulk up, which is where the majority of his criticism comes from. However, he has stated in a few interviews that adding weight and muscle is one of his major goals over the coming year and a half.

Another telling sign of this kid's potential is the schools that are just starting to show interest (Kentucky, Virginia Indiana), and his current offers: Iowa, IL, Marquette, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and so on.

Finally, everyone should remember that he plays on one of the better teams in Chicago and has got a great supporting cast in his teammates. He doesn't NEED to be the star with all their talent....and best thing is that he is learning with these kids and competing with them which, in turn, will better prepare him for the future.

This kid is a steal and was among my favorite for the 2009 class. I couldn't be much happier today unless Jamil Wilson were to commit as well!

[komacki]

I try my best not to go with the stars, but they're all I have for most players. I'm a poor college student, remember. The reason I joined this place right after I found out about it was because I was so frustrated with not knowing anything about who the Badgers were recruiting.

It's nice to see Bo bringing in some three point shooters. Last year the Badgers didn't have a consistent one (don't get me started on Kam) and it showed. The year before that wasn't much better, but Nixon was fairly consistent. There's an plenty of big men on the team, it's good to see a shooter coming in.

[Bernini]

I retract my comment about him not seeing the championship celebration on Thursday because he probably doesn't have BTN. He actually said he watched us quite often on the Big Ten Network. So Komacki, I guess it is plausible he saw the festivities on Wednesday night, prompting his commitment. I'd imagine he's still in the minority though. His father is a high school basketball coach.