Tuesday, May 10, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 10, 2005) - East Tennessee State University men's basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Tuesday that 6-foot-2 guard Tayloe Taylor (Memphis, Tenn.) has signed to play basketball for the Buccaneers beginning with the 2005-06 season.

"We would classify him as a combo guard that may become more of a point guard for us," Bartow said. "The things that excite us the most about Tayloe are he's a good ball handler with great vision, and he has a knack for getting in the paint and making things happen. He's a very athletic, long player who has the ability to slash and score off the dribble."

A point guard who averaged 15 points as a senior at Wooddale High School, Taylor was an all-district, all-tournament and honorable mention all-state player. In addition, he was the most valuable player of his high school team, helping lead Wooddale to a 22-9 record this past season.

Taylor continues a recent trend for ETSU, as he will join fellow Memphis guards Travis Strong and Courtney Pigram on next year's Buccaneer roster. Strong, who will be entering his junior season, and Pigram, who will be playing his first campaign for the Bucs, both played at Memphis' White Station High School.

"Memphis has been good to us at this point with Travis, Courtney and now Tayloe," Bartow said. "Memphis has good players, and fortunately we have strong ties in that city. Again, any time you can sign in-state players you want to, and this is another example of our efforts to do that."

With the signing of Taylor, the Bucs have one scholarship left to offer for the 2005-06 season. ETSU already has a recruiting class of six players, which includes guards Dante Williams (Romulus, Mich.), Shaun Keaton (Albany, Ga.), Pigram and Taylor, as well as forwards Eryk Thomas Fremont, Calif.) and Kenyona Swader (Smyrna, Tenn.).