Top 100 G T.J. Taylor Joins Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma men's basketball head coach Jeff Capel announced today that T.J. Taylor, a 6-3, 205-pound guard from Denison, Texas, has signed a letter of intent with the Sooners.

Taylor, a left-handed senior at Denison High School, is rated by ESPN.com as the No. 71 overall player in the 2010 recruiting class and by Rivals.com as the No. 91 player.

Taylor averaged 27.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game last year for a 21-11 Denison squad that advanced to the area round of the Class 4A state tournament.  He was named his district's offensive player of the year the last two seasons.

"T.J. is a strong left-handed guard who can play both guard positions," said Capel.  "He's very physical and he can shoot it.  One of my favorite things about him is that he loves to play, he loves to compete. 

"He broke his ankle in June and wasn't able to participate in the AAU events in July.  But he's responded very nicely and is back playing and working out.  We're really excited about him joining the OU family."

Taylor recorded three triple-doubles last year as a junior.  His career scoring high of 40 points also came last year against Frisco's Liberty High School.

Said first-year Denison head coach Jody Bass, "OU's getting a very good player.  T.J. has the ability to shoot the 3, get to the rim and finish, and shoot the mid-range jump shot.  So he's got the whole package offensively.  He's big and strong, has good feet and quickness, and has the ability to defend well.  I just think he's a really, really good player and OU is fortunate to get him."

Added former Denison head coach Scott Curran, who is in his first year as head coach at Fort Worth's Byron Nelson High School, "I think the University of Oklahoma is getting possibly the best guard in Texas.  I think he's going to get even better at the next level."