Did Tyshawn Taylor really say THAT?
OMAHA, Neb. -- Yes. Yes, he did. Tyshawn Taylor really did speculate about -- no, taunt -- the best player on the 15th-seeded team set to face his second-seeded Kansas Jayhawks on Friday in Omaha.
Taylor, Kansas' captain (!), was asked about Detroit star Ray McCallum Jr. Specifically, Taylor was asked, "What are your thoughts on Ray McCallum?"
It was a small taunt. But it was a taunt. That's my opinion, anyway ... see for yourself.
Here's what Taylor said, emphasis mine:
"I think he's a terrific guard, man. I think he's a crafty player," Taylor said. "I think it's going to be a tough guard for whoever has to guard him, but like Elijah [Johnson] said, he has to play defense and we're going to make him have to move around. We learned about him briefly that he doesn't like to guard too much so we're going to put him into situtions where he has to be a defender and maybe that can wear him down offensively."
Excuse me? You learned that Detroit's best player, the son of the head coach, the player who has to have a great game for Detroit to have any chance at the upset, "doesn't want to guard too much?"
I like it. No, really. I do. Players at these interview sessions are typically too boring, afraid to say anything of substance, and Tyshawn Taylor just said something of substance. He said something that gives some insight into Ray McCallum Jr., or at least into the Kansas program's perception of Ray McCallum Jr.
Did Tyshawn Taylor just say something that sets off Ray McCallum Jr.? We shall see.
McCallum was asked about Taylor's comments, and he basically conceded the point:
"I do like to defend," McCallum said. "My freshman year I didn't defend that much. Coming into my sophomore year I knew I needed to step it up on the defensive end. Probably earlier in the season I didn't like I probably needed to [but] toward the middle of the season I understood the points of the defense. It's something I work on with my teammates every day in practice and ... in the Horizon League tournament I saw how important defense was for my team and how it can help us win so coming into this game I have a defensive mindset."
McCallum might also have an extra motivated offensive mindset, too. We shall, as I said, see.
Taylor, Kansas' captain (!), was asked about Detroit star Ray McCallum Jr. Specifically, Taylor was asked, "What are your thoughts on Ray McCallum?"
It was a small taunt. But it was a taunt. That's my opinion, anyway ... see for yourself.
Here's what Taylor said, emphasis mine:
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Excuse me? You learned that Detroit's best player, the son of the head coach, the player who has to have a great game for Detroit to have any chance at the upset, "doesn't want to guard too much?"
I like it. No, really. I do. Players at these interview sessions are typically too boring, afraid to say anything of substance, and Tyshawn Taylor just said something of substance. He said something that gives some insight into Ray McCallum Jr., or at least into the Kansas program's perception of Ray McCallum Jr.
Did Tyshawn Taylor just say something that sets off Ray McCallum Jr.? We shall see.
McCallum was asked about Taylor's comments, and he basically conceded the point:
"I do like to defend," McCallum said. "My freshman year I didn't defend that much. Coming into my sophomore year I knew I needed to step it up on the defensive end. Probably earlier in the season I didn't like I probably needed to [but] toward the middle of the season I understood the points of the defense. It's something I work on with my teammates every day in practice and ... in the Horizon League tournament I saw how important defense was for my team and how it can help us win so coming into this game I have a defensive mindset."
McCallum might also have an extra motivated offensive mindset, too. We shall, as I said, see.
