HIGH HOPES: Kansas point guard Tyshawn Taylor, who led the Jayhawks to the NCAA title game in March, hopes to be drafted in the “20 to 30” range Thursday. (Getty Images)
Kansas senior point guard Tyshawn Taylor will be with family in a Hoboken restaurant Thursday, watching the NBA Draft — a 10-minute drive from the Prudential Center.
“I’ll be so close, I’ll be able to hear the cheers,’‘ Taylor quipped.
Taylor, out of prestigious St. Anthony’s High, is a sharp kid and astute 6-foot-4 point guard who helped Kansas make the NCAA title game in March, losing to Kentucky. Their surprising tournament run capped off a solid four-year Jayhawks career in which Taylor started 127 of 146 games. That has him in line to be drafted Thursday anywhere from late in the first round to the second round.
“I didn’t think we had a chance for the finals when the season began,’’ Taylor said. “We knew we could be good, but no one knew [if we could be] that good. I didn’t know we’d be even as good as the past three years. Making the championship was my career highlight. We fought hard to get there.’’
Taylor has heard from teams and his representatives — New York-based Jeff Schwartz — about his wide draft range. Taylor said he should go anywhere from 20 to 40. “But 20 to 30 is the region I want to be in,’’ he said.
One well-known mock draft, nbadraft.net, has Taylor falling to 49, even past the Knicks, who select at 48 and need a point guard. But that assessment is in the minority. Taylor can knock down shots and run a team in a draft weak on point guards. But concerns stem mostly from his inconsistency on defense at the next level, according to NBA draft analyst Ryan Blake.
Taylor, who averaged 16.6 points and 4.8 assists last season, would be surprised if he got to 40. It hurt him as a Knicks fan, but he declined the team’s invitation to work out. Taylor reduced his workout schedule to 10 teams.
“I’m maybe out of their [draft] area,’’ Taylor said. “I was thinking maybe I will work out, maybe I won’t. If it is a travesty and I do fall, they won’t need a workout to pick me.’’
Some draft prognosticators consider Taylor as strong as the fourth-best point guard in the draft after Damian Lillard, Marquis Teague and Kendall Marshall. But last year, Josh Selby, also out of Kansas, fell to 49.
“There’s always one or two guys who fall where you say, ‘I never thought he’d still be around that late,’ ’’ one draft analyst said. “Tyshawn could be one of those guys.’’
Taylor grew up in Hoboken and moved to Florida when he was 10 because his mother had family in Clearwater, Fla. But when it was time to start a high-school basketball career, he came back to Jersey.
“The level of basketball is so much better here,’’ Taylor said. “Playing for St. Anthony’s, it was a privilege. It helped my basketball a lot. Clearwater is football. Basketball doesn’t matter.’’
One element Taylor isn’t concerned about is how his style translates to the NBA. He was a four-year starter at Kansas and an All-Big 12 first-team selection as a senior. Taylor’s Kansas pedigree should help him. Three Kansas alums played in the NBA Finals: Mario Chalmers, Nick Collison and Cole Aldrich. Taylor’s teammate, bruiser Thomas Robinson, could be a top-three pick.
“I like to push the ball and make things happen but I love playing the pick-and-roll,’’ Taylor said. “It’s kind of what we did in college and it’s a huge part of the NBA game. I fit the NBA game well. I think it’s going to be a big adjustment. I can’t say I’m worried about the basketball part. The NBA lifestyle is the biggest transition. We’re still kids in college.’’
Even if he’s hoping to go higher than the Knicks pick, he likes that club.
“I always rooted for them,’’ Taylor said. “I’m a big [Carmelo Anthony] fan, [Amar’e Stoudemire] is the man and Landry Fields is the silent killer.’’