April 11, 2009
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (UCFAthletics.com) - Play concluded Saturday at the Portsmouth Invitational and UCF senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) excelled at the event, which featured the top seniors in the country. In three contests, he averaged an event-high 21.3 points and was named to the all-tournament squad.
The 2008-09 Conference USA Player of the Year, Taylor performed well in front of representatives from every National Basketball Association franchise. He shot 46.4 percent from the field and averaged 3.7 rebounds in 28.0 minutes an outing.
Playing for the Norfolk Sports Club, Taylor, who averaged 26.2 points during the regular season for the Knights, had his best performance in the opening game of the tournament. Facing Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, he poured in 30 points in 32 minutes. Taylor connected on 11-of-24 shots from the field and went 7-of-9 at the free-throw line. He added five rebounds (four offensive) in the contest.
Taylor followed that performance with 21 points in 23 minutes against the Portsmouth Sports Club. In his squad's final game of the event, versus K&D Rounds Landscaping, he scored 13 points in 29 minutes.
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is the only postseason showcase for seniors prior to the NBA Pre-Draft Camp and is the lone event that includes actual game competition. UCF head coach Kirk Speraw traveled to Virginia to watch Taylor's first game at the tournament.
Since the season ended for the Knights, Taylor, who earned Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention honors in March, has been busy. Last week, he competed in a pair of events in Detroit during Final Four weekend. He participated in the Vegas.com Slam Dunk Championship and also played in the Hershey's College All-Star Game. He totaled 23 points in the contest and was named team MVP for the Hershey's All-Stars.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.