After a 25-game roller coaster ride this
season, freshman Bryce Taylor finally gets
to go home when the Oregon men’s basketball team faces Southern California tonight in Los Angeles.
The Encino, Calif., native is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game and admits that going back to Southern California will be a good experience for him.
“I’m real excited,” the 6-foot-5 guard
said. “You definitely want to go out there and play well.”
Taylor attended Harvard-Westlake High School where he was a three-time CIF Division III Player of the Year. The 18-year-old
averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game, while hitting more than
50 percent of his three-point shots his senior season. He also owns school records for points in a season with 1,003 and points in a game with 54.
Taylor said coming home also gives him a chance to show that coming to Oregon wasn’t a mistake.
“I want to prove to everybody that for me to be successful, I didn’t have to stay home,” he said. “People were saying a lot of things when I decided to come up here to Oregon.”
But one aspect that might be tough when coming home, according to Taylor, will be keeping his wits about him and not getting too pumped up on the court.
“I just have to relax and approach it like any other game and not put too much pressure on myself to perform in front of friends and family,” Taylor said. “That’s all nice, but it’s just another important game for us, and I can’t let myself get too excited.”
Taylor has seen his offensive production fluctuate throughout the season. He scored in double figures in six of his first seven games at Oregon, but only hit double digits in four of his next 12 games. Taylor seems to be escaping his recent slump, averaging 11.2 points per game in his last six contests.
While his offense hasn’t been consistent, Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said there has been a steep improvement in his play on the defensive end of the floor.
“In high school, we didn’t know if he could defend, because he never defended,” Kent said. “Starting here in the fall, he was a long way away. But for him to do the job he did on (Chris) Hernandez the other night … I thought that was a tremendous effort.
“He has come so far in terms of defending the basketball.”
Taylor admits there was a lack of effort on the defensive end before coming to Oregon.
“Coming in I didn’t play much defense
in high school, because you can relax on
the other end of the court and still get your
30 points,” Taylor said. “Coming in on day one (at Oregon), that’s one of the things I wanted to focus on. Now when Coach puts me on assignments against (Chris) Hernandez or (Salim) Stoudamire, I’m going to give them a run for their money.”
Defense continues to excel
While Oregon’s offense has been inconsistent and streaky, its defense has proved to be a pleasant surprise.
The Ducks have held teams to
43.1 percent shooting this season, good for fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference. They rank in the middle of the conference in points allowed with 70.4 points per game.
“Our defense has been pretty good for a young team,” Oregon guard Aaron Brooks said. “We’ve been grasping the other team’s offense and trying to control the game.”
But Oregon’s offense is also averaging 70.4 points per game, giving it the fourth worst scoring margin in the Pac-10.

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