Purdue transfer Jacquil Taylor a big asset for Hofstra
Hofstra forward Jacquil Taylor shoots a free throw against Rosemont during the first half of a men's basketball game at Mack Sports Complex on Dec. 22, 2018. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Whenever his Hofstra teammates ask, Jacquil Taylor is happy to tell them that playing in March Madness “is one of the best feelings in the world.” He will be much happier if he can help them experience it themselves.
So far, so good. The 6-10 graduate student who played in the Sweet 16 last year with Purdue is one of the big — literally and figuratively — reasons why the Pride is having such a solid season. He is a shot-blocking bulwark on defense, which is the team’s greatest source of improvement and arguably the most significant reason why Hofstra has a national-best 16-game winning streak. “Don’t get me wrong, scoring sells tickets,” he said before practice on Monday, “but defense wins championships.”
Taylor, 23, chose to eschew the huge arenas and national television of the Big Ten for the modest surroundings and large challenge of the one-bid CAA. “Sometimes you have to put your pride aside,” said the Pride center whose Purdue career was stifled by foot injuries. “I saw an opportunity that presented itself and I felt I could help this team do something special.”
He and Hofstra have been a perfect match: Taylor has given the team a mature, skillful replacement for graduated center Rokas Gustys, and the Pride has given him a chance to flourish. He could have used his remaining eligibility to stay with the Boilermakers but was honest enough to acknowledge that the only reason he got to play 15 minutes in Boston (his hometown) against Texas Tech last year was that starter Isaac Haas had a broken elbow.
“My dad always told me and my coaches always told me there are good players everywhere,” Taylor said. “I did the whole thing out, the pros and cons, to make sure I was making the right choice. Even then, I was like, ‘Do I still really want to do this?’ I had been at Purdue for four years, I knew the coaches, I knew the system, I finally figured out the system. I liked my teammates. The downside was I’ve got to readjust to another coaching style, new teammates.
“In order to get to where I want to go, I have to play,” he said, indicating that he wants to go pro (as Gustys has, in Europe). “My main goal is the NBA.”
Taylor is averaging 7.2 points and 7.7 rebounds, but his presence transcends his statistics. He has neutralized all-CAA players such as UNC-Wilmington’s Devontae Cacok and Charleston’s Jarrell Brantley. On offense, he has been an inside option for a team that relies on guards Justin Wright-Foreman and Eli Pemberton.
Brooklyn Nets' D'Angelo Russell attends a men's basketball game between Stony Brook and Vermont at Island Federal Arena on Jan. 26, 2019. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
“The guys love him,” coach Joe Mihalich said. “I think he is getting more and more comfortable every day, and confident.”
Mihalich was looking hard for a big man who could step right in. He had heard about Taylor and asked a friend, Rutgers assistant coach and Massachusetts native Karl Hobbs, about him. Hobbs knew the player’s dad, Maurice, a former Division III star at Wentworth, and put in a call.
“Whenever you take a transfer, you have to make sure he still has the twinkle in his eye, that he still loves the game,” Mihalich said. “Some of the kids can get beaten down. But he didn’t. He still enjoys the game, he likes being part of a team.”
It is a team that legitimately dreams about March.
The Stony Brook-D’Angelo Russell connection
Seeing Nets standout D’Angelo Russell in the front row of Stony Brook’s game against Vermont Saturday night was a reminder of the many times he and Seawolves coach Jeff Boals have been on or near a court together.
The two have a bond that began when Boals, an assistant to Thad Matta at Ohio State, began recruiting Russell as a high school sophomore. Boals never will forget Russell’s first exhibition game for the Buckeyes. “He had 34 points, eight rebounds and hit the game-winning three,” Boals said. “Coach Matta was like, ‘We’d better find another point guard because he’s not going to be here.’”
Boals still is in regular contact with the player who did leave college after one season and was the second overall pick in the NBA Draft. They recently took in a high school game together at Barclays Center. Russell’s progress in the face of strong early criticism is something Boals shares with his Stony Brook roster. “I think he has really matured and it has made him into who he is today,” the coach said.
Look out for Iona, again
Tim Cluess is at it again. The Iona coach, a Long Island resident and Hofstra graduate, withstood a rough early season (2-9) and seems to be getting his team in shape for another shot at the Big Dance. Last Friday, the Gaels became the first team in the MAAC this season to beat Rider. They are currently 7-12 overall, 5-3 in the conference, a game-and-a-half out of first place. Cluess has brought Iona to the NCAA Tournament five times in the past seven years, the last three in a row.
