April 7, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On Wednesday, UCF senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) will begin his quest to play professionally when action gets underway at the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia. The four-day event will allow 64 of the top seniors in the country to perform in front of representatives from every National Basketball Association franchise.
The P.I.T. is in its 57th year and is the only postseason showcase for seniors prior to the NBA Pre-Draft Camp and is the lone event that includes actual game competition.
Taylor is looking forward to playing in front of NBA personnel.
"I am excited about that," he said. "I am getting closer to my dream. I just need to go out there and perform and let people know what I can do."
The 2008-09 Conference USA Player of the Year, Taylor ranked third nationally in scoring as a senior, averaging 26.2 points. In C-USA action, he averaged a league-record 29.1 points. An Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention pick, he also earned a spot on the All-C-USA First Team, the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 11 First Team and the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District IV Team.
At the P.I.T., Taylor is on a squad with seven other players - Jeff Adrien (Connecticut), Connor Atchley (Texas), Lee Cummard (BYU), Lawrence Hill (Stanford), Ahmad Nivins (Saint Joseph's), Wink Adams (UNLV) and Taylor Rochestie (Washington State). His team will play four contests at the tournament.
Taylor will be one of eight players from C-USA schools at the event, joining Antonio Anderson (Memphis), Paul Delaney III (UAB), Robert Dozier (Memphis), Bamba Fall (SMU), Stefon Jackson (UTEP), Lawrence Kinnard (UAB) and Robert Vaden (UAB).
Since the campaign ended for the Knights, Taylor 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.