Coach John Shulman interrupted Ricky Taylor’s interview.
“Get all the attention you want right now,” Shulman said before the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball team meeting Monday. “Because when you watch that tape of you guarding, it’s not going to be pretty.”
Offensively, the sophomore guard has been one of the Mocs’ most consistent players of the last three weeks. Taylor has scored at least 11 points in eight straight games, including the Mocs’ 85-80 win Saturday over Appalachian State.
“I feel like I’m finally getting into a good flow and teammates are looking for me and my shot is feeling really good,” Taylor said. “I feel confident when I’m shooting the ball.”
But Shulman hasn’t been impressed with Taylor’s results on the other end of the court. Even though he has been scoring, so have the guys he’s supposed to be guarding.
“He’s had about a minus-one ratio,” Shulman said. “He’d better be happy that he’s scoring the ball, because I’ve been disappointed with him and (Josh Odem) on defense and on the glass. Ricky has size and athleticism, and it’s great that he’s been able to score because he hasn’t been defending.”
Taylor has faced Donald Sims (24 points), Brandon Giles (10), Junior Salters (14) and Chris Long (25) in his last four games — two wins and two losses.
“The SoCon has always been a guard league, and if you have the best one, you win the league,” Shulman said. “There are good two-guards in this league, and he happens to be a sophomore and having to deal with it.”
But Taylor is no longer a youngster. He’s started 15 games and averages 23.7 minutes per game. He also played 18 games last year and was named a captain in August.
“I don’t feel like a newcomer anymore,” Taylor said. “I feel like I’m stepping into that veteran role. The first part of the season I was getting adjusted to being that captain Coach Shulman wanted.
“I’m really enjoying it now.”