As NBA teams seemed to prove in last month's rookie draft, as talented a player as Iona College's Scott Machado is, sometimes homegrown products just simply get overlooked.
Perhaps among those underrated is Tony Taylor Jr., a 6'3 guard out of George Washington University, who averaged 13.1 points and 4.3 assists during his senior senior in 2011-12.
Though Taylor went undrafted last month, his agent (BJ Bass of RBA Sports) has enough confidence in the Sleepy Hollow, NY native to believe he's ready to break ground on his journey to the NBA.
And Bass isn't afraid of letting Taylor Jr.'s hometown team know, either. He and his client made a trip to Westchester Thursday morning during which Knicks' General Manager Glen Grunwald gave the young guard a tour of the team's training facilities.
The agent made his intentions clear to KnicksJournal.com by adding, "I met with Glen Grunwald [Thursday morning] to let him know how I feel-- and to ask him to consider Tony for a spot in the team's veteran camp."
Knicks fans would certainly be able to appreciate the skills Taylor Jr. brings to the table. He is a strong guard who is often praised for his penetration to the basket, and has even drawn comparisons to a former Knicks guard.
Talking about his talents, the GWU graduate noted, "I've been compared to somewhat of a Chauncey Billups. Not as tall, but I like to get my teammates involved a lot and can hit the open jump shot."
In addition to saying certain scouts have compared his client to Jeremy Lin recently, Bass also added, "I look around the league and believe wholeheartedly that there are as many as fifteen teams that can use Tony in their backcourt rotation."
The Knicks were not only able to bring in a more than capable replacement for Lin in Raymond Felton, but also signed Hall of Fame bound guard Jason Kidd and Argentina's Pablo Prigioni to help man the floor general duties next season.
New York may look steady at the position now, but given Kidd's age (he missed 18 games in the lockout-shortened NBA season), and Prigioni's unproven track record in The Association (he will make his NBA debut at age 35), the team may have no choice but to explore different alternatives as next season progresses.
It may be nice to have Taylor Jr. waiting in the wings. Because the Knicks own a direct NBA D-League affiliate in the Erie BayHawks, it may be sensible to give the young guard an opportunity on the squad in order to keep close watch. Both Taylor Jr. and Bass agree starting his career off in the D-League would be a good opportunity.
With that in mind, Taylor Jr reflected positively about the possibility of playing for his hometown squad. He added, "Playing for the Knicks would be a dream come true. I'd do my best to stay on the team. Growing up in a household that just loved New York sports, and having idolized John Starks as one of my favorite players, playing for the New York native team would be just great."
The Knicks are expected to be amongst a few NBA teams taking in a workout from Taylor Jr. and other notable NBA prospects this week.
NBA fans can catch the GWU product displaying his talents this Saturday afternoon (7/28) at Adelphi University. He'll be one of the many up and coming prospects playing in the Malone Mulhall Benefit Game.
Recognizing the great cause, Taylor Jr. said he was looking forward to honoring the memory of Jamie & Paige Malone, as well as Michael Mulhall, all of whom lost their lives in a tragic 2010 car accident. The guard added, "I'm really excited to play in this game. It's great to see what the community has done to recognize the special efforts of all three young adults and their work with Camp ANCHOR."
You can see Taylor Jr. play alongside the likes of Scott Machado and the Spurs' Danny Green by purchasing a ticket for Saturday's matchup at the MMBG's website.
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