Kentucky basketball: Experienced scorer eyes Wildcats in portal

Kentucky basketball is interested in one of the best scoring guards left in the transfer portal.

Andrew Taylor, a transfer from Marshall, listed Kentucky basketball as one of the many teams pursuing him in the portal.

A 6-foot-3 graduate senior, Taylor scored over 1,600 career points in four years at Marshall. According to Jon Rothstein, a slew of power conference and high mid-major teams have already contacted Taylor.

Taylor is originally from Kentucky and could find a place at home with the Wildcats

The Corbin, Kentucky (about 90 miles from Lexington) native could be a crucial piece for the Wildcats’ needs.

As it stands right now, Kentucky is very thin at guard. In fact, Adou Thiero, who is more suited to be on the wing, is the only returning guard. Antonio Reeves could join him if he returns to college instead of pursuing his professional basketball dream.

Kentucky basketball does bring in a trio of talented freshman guards. 5-stars DJ Wagner, Robert Dillingham, and 4-star Reed Sheppard should all crack John Calipari’s rotation next season.

However, Taylor could be the veteran guard the Wildcats need, especially if Reeves doesn’t come back.

Andrew Taylor isn’t just a one-trick pony

While people will look at Andrew Taylor’s scoring abilities first, he’s far from a one-dimensional player. In addition to the 22.1 points per game, Taylor averaged last season, he also strung together 5.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 2.3 SPG. Needless to say, Taylor can do it all on the basketball court.

Perhaps his biggest asset is hitting the three-point shot. That was an area Kentucky basketball struggled in last season, shooting it just 34.7% from behind the arc as a team. However, the Wildcats are set to lose three of their top six three-point shooters from a year ago. If Reeves leaves, that adds another to the fire.

Taylor is a 35.5% career three-point shooter, hitting three-pointers at a 36.4% rate last season. He can be a dangerous deep ball threat for a Cats team in need of another shooter.

Taylor can also be a facilitator on a Kentucky team that will likely have some chemistry issues. With so many talented freshmen usually comes a lack of ball movement. But Taylor is a unique scoring guard, in the fact that his ball handling and passing are equally as important parts to his game.

Kentucky basketball could land a star veteran in Andrew Taylor.