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April 4, 2009

Oh, the hell with it, I am.

Villanova has come out and missed their first 3 free throws against UNC. Now? Now Reynolds and Fisher miss free throws?

Dante Taylor got a good amount of love in the Washington Post leading up to the McDonald’s All-American game. This feature piece on how far he’s come since being enrolled at National Christian Academy.

“He’s changed an awful lot,” [Coach Trevor] Brown said one recent afternoon as he prepared to put Taylor and several other players through a workout. “There are a lot of different ways where he has changed — personality, social skills, academically, being more conscious of being a good student. The basketball part of it is what everybody can see. But the other stuff is what we notice around the school, who the real Dante Taylor is.”

The basketball stuff is pretty impressive. Taylor averaged 23.8 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks this past season and has signed scholarship papers to play for Pittsburgh. He has grown to 6-9 and a muscular 235 pounds. According to Brown, Taylor has gone from being perceived as a bully to being considered humble as he walks the halls at National Christian. And Taylor is proud of his development in the classroom, where he has steadily improved and made the honor roll twice.

“It used to be if I got a ‘C’ or a ‘D,’ I used to be happy that I passed,” Taylor said. “Now, I see that’s not acceptable.”

Taylor finished the All-American game with 15 points on 6-11 shooting and 6 rebounds. A pretty good night.

At the same time, it didn’t impress those who are looking for NBA quality players.

Dante Taylor — 15 pts, 6-11 fg, 3-3 ft, 6 rebs, 1 blk, 1 stl, 2 asts, 1 to, 15 min — Shows good size (big wingspan) and solid agility. Scored a number of baskets but didn’t stand out. Got stuffed by Henson on one dunk attempt. He scored on some jumpers and shots around the basket. A solid prospect but nothing extraordinary.

This isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t surprising to most that he’s got some things to work on.

Dante Taylor, PF, Greeburgh, N.Y./National Christian Academy, Md.
Position rank: 6
College: Pittsburgh (Signed)
Strengths: Taylor is a good rebounder and scorer in the low block. He is a solid athlete and very productive. He is one of the best low post players in the 2009 class.
Weaknesses: Taylor is a great low post player, but his game is limited to scoring inside 12 feet. That may not be such a bad thing but increased range would definitely make him a much harder player to stop.
How he’ll fit: Taylor should be a great fit at Pitt. He can either backup or take over Dejuan Blair’s role in the low post, depending on whether or not Blair leaves for the NBA. Taylor is an active scorer and rebounder on offense. He is also a good low post defender and while he’s not a great shot blocker, he is solid and will get his share.

That doesn’t make him a bad college prospect, just means the odds are not in his favor to be one-and-done. Not a bad thing for Pitt. The other good news is Taylor is saying the right things. About knowing he still has plenty on which to improve.

“Dante has a lot of potential to be a great team player,” Burrows said. “One thing I like about him is that he isn’t high maintenance. If you need him to go down low and just focus on rebounding, he’ll do it. If you need him to score, he’ll do it. If you need him to come away from the basket and provide help defending the perimeter, he’ll do it.”

There are still a lot of things for Taylor to work on, but the White Plains, N.Y., native is not waiting to get to Pittsburgh to start the process.

“I’m still trying to improve my abilities with my back to the basket,” Taylor said. “And I’m trying to improve the consistency of my jump shot. It’s pretty good right now, but it can always be better.”

For those of you who watched the game, odds are you can just nod your head with this overall observation about the players (even if it sounds a little cranky old man).

The free throw is going the way of the pass and becoming a lost art and many of the elite players cannot consistently knock them down. Young players need to spend more time honing this skill as it determines the outcome of most close games.

Meanwhile, the incoming players are eager to come in and make a mark at Pitt.

“It’s some big shoes to fill,” said [J.J.] Richardson, a 6-7 forward from Houston. “But I think we can get the job done and get Pittsburgh where we went this year, as long as we put in the work and everyone plays together.”

Clark Francis, editor of Hoopscooponline.com, said Pitt’s incoming class should help ease the losses.

“I love Lamar Patterson, and I think Zanna is terrific, and Dante Taylor is ready to walk in and be one of the better big guys in the Big East,” he said. “They should be fine up front.”

Top returners are sophomore Gilbert Brown, in line to replace Young at small forward; sophomore shooting guard Brad Wanamaker and freshmen Ashton Gibbs and Nasir Robinson, along with two freshmen who redshirted, Woodall and power forward Dwight Miller.

While only one of Pitt’s four freshmen (Gibbs) made any impact this season, that will change with the class of 2009.

“We just want to work as hard as possible,” Patterson said, “and make sure we battle and maintain our Big East status.”

Nothing, if not ambitious.

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