Coming into the 2011-2012 season, it seemed that Wisconsin senior point guard Jordan Taylor was on the brink of cementing his place among the nation's best collegiate players. But perhaps as a result of off season ankle surgery from which Taylor does not seem to have fully recovered, the Bloomington, Minn native has not been able to live up to his preseason All-America billing.
Taylor is still leading the Badgers in both scoring and in assists, no doubt playing the pivotal role in the UW offense that he was expected to play. But after shooting 43% from both two and three-point range en route to averaging over 18 points per game in 2010-2011, Taylor has dropped to just 14.1 points per game on just 39% from the field and a measly 33.6% from beyond the arc.
More importantly, Taylor has struggled in the games Wisconsin has needed him most. At Michigan, he was 5/15 from the field with just 1 assist to 3 turnovers. At home against Ohio State, with the Badgers having a chance to take the lead in the Big Ten standings, Taylor was just 4/10 and again committed an uncharacteristic three turnovers. On the road against Michigan State, 3/13 from the field. And in Thursday night's 67-66 loss at Iowa, the senior managed just 9 points with 4 turnovers and 4 fouls.
With Wisconsin now in jeopardy of finishing outside the top four in the Big Ten for the first time during head coach Bo Ryan's time in Madison, Taylor needs to begin living up to his potential.
More importantly, Taylor needs to begin playing like a senior captain. He cannot afford to pick up early fouls and charge calls. He cannot afford to commit lazy turnovers. And above all, he cannot show the poor body language that he showed at times throughout Thursday's loss.
But having said that, the coaching staff needs to help him out. Especially given the residual impact of the ankle surgery, it is simply unrealistic to think that Taylor can be at his best while averaging nearly 36 minutes per game. The first instance of minutes clearly taking their toll was way back on December 31st at home against Iowa. Taylor played all 40 minutes in the 72-65 loss but was clearly suffering on the defensive end during the second half, a second half that saw Iowa point guard Bryce Cartwright rack up 10 points and 4 assists with Taylor on his hip. When the Badgers needed stops, Taylor was simply a step slow and the resulting penetration put UW in the hole.
If there is a silver lining to come out of the most recent loss to Iowa it is that Taylor doesnt need to play 40 minutes for the Badgers to have an offense. With Taylor down due to foul trouble, fellow senior guard Rob Wilson was forced into action and responding the way many observers of Wisconsin basketball felt that he would: 9 second-half points to help spark a 12-2 run that got the Badgers within 3 midway through the half. As expected, Ryan immediately sat him down in favor of Taylor, but the point had been made loud and clear.
As Wisconsin heads into the final three games of the regular season, needing two wins to clinch a top-4 seed in the conference tournament, this needs to become a trend. Not the four turnovers by Taylor but rather, the 29 minutes. Wilson is a viable option off the bench and in fact may be a viable option to start in place of Mike Bruesewitz, who seems much more comfortable coming off the bench for the Badgers.
UW cannot continue to rely upon big time performances from its senior point guard but at the same time, they need to start happening with more regularity. The less Taylor tries to come up with a 20 point game, the more likely it is to happen. And more importantly, the coaching staff needs to stop relying on that 20 point game in order for the Badgers to get a W. They have shown little to no willingness to develop a bench and it has already burned them in conference play. But we now know that there is a contributor ready and willing to play a role off the bench in the form of Wilson.
These two have just a few weeks left in their Badger careers. As much as Ryan preaches the importance of having seniors lead the charge, it is about time that he practice a bit more of that preaching. The bottom line is with three games left before a likely matchup with either Indiana or Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, it is time for that senior leadership to make its mark.
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