July 15, 2010
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Former UCF men's basketball star Jermaine Taylor has started year two of his professional career in fine fashion. Taylor averaged 18.4 points in five games at the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which concluded for his Houston Rockets Wednesday.
In Houston's final game, the shooting guard scored 16 points in a win over Denver.
Taylor averaged 29.4 minutes in Las Vegas, and shot 47.1 percent from the field. He also averaged 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists. His best game in summer league play came last Friday when he poured in 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting in a victory over Phoenix.
In his first year as a pro, Taylor appeared in 31 games for the Rockets in 2009-10, averaging 4.1 points in 9.8 minutes an outing. He started four games late in the season. His best contest came on March 27 against the Los Angeles Lakers in Houston. Making his first career start, Taylor poured in 15 points and added five rebounds and three assists.
The 2008-09 Conference USA Player of the Year, Taylor averaged 26.2 points as a senior at UCF, which ranked third in the nation. An All-America selection, he set a C-USA single-season record by scoring 466 points and averaging 29.1 points versus league foes. The Tavares native finished his time with the Knights with 1,979 points, the most scored by a UCF player at the Division I level.
He was selected by Washington with the 32nd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and was traded to Houston on draft night.