PHILADELPHIA (UCFKnights.com) –UCF guard BJ Taylor has been a leader for the Knights men’s basketball team since he stepped foot on campus. Now a senior, Taylor will look to lead the Black and Gold to new heights, and he’ll do it with even higher expectations.
As a group, Taylor’s team was picked to win the league on Monday. As an individual, the Orlando native was named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year.
“It’s a great honor to have that kind of respect from the coaches in this league,” Taylor said. “It’s an honor for me to represent UCF and the city of Orlando as the Preseason Player of the Year in The American.”
Taylor enters his senior season already having scored over 1,000 points. He was an All-Freshman Team selection back in 2014-15, and as a sophomore he led the Knights to the NIT Semifinals after averaging 17.2 points per game and earning All-Conference honors.
This past season, he suffered a broken foot and missed 16 games. Taylor still led the Knights with 15.9 points per game, and helped UCF fight its way to a 19-13 record with major injuries to three of its best players.
“With these kind of expectations, we’re going to be targeted. But at the end of the day, we know what our team is capable of,” Taylor said. “Our staff and our team knows what it takes to get where we want to be, so for us it’s all about staying focused on what we need to focus on every day.”
Now a senior, with still much more to prove on the court, Taylor looks to lead his Knights to new heights.
“I’m grateful to be in this position,” he said. “I’m excited that we have such a great team for my last year. I think we can really make a deep run, and it’s awesome that my last year could be our best year.”
TICKETS FOR 2018-19
Fans excited for the upcoming 2018-19 UCF men's basketball season can purchase tickets today by calling (407) 823-1000 or online here: https://ucfknights.co/mbb1819tix.