Northwestern Basketball: How will Ryan Taylor impact the Wildcats?

Northwestern basketball snagged a superb transfer in Ryan Taylor this offseason. How will the high-scoring guard impact the team?

It is no secret that Northwestern basketball lost a ton of talent this offseason. With talented veterans Scottie Lindsey and Bryant McIntosh (among others) no longer on the roster, the Wildcats will need to replace a ton of production. And even though Northwestern’s incoming recruiting class, ranked No. 34 in the nation, should help, the most important newcomer on the roster will most definitely be Ryan Taylor.

A 6-foot-6 transfer guard, Taylor is a high-volume scorer who should immediately improve Northwestern’s offense. While playing for the Evansville Aces last season, Taylor averaged 21.3 points per game while shooting 42.6% from the field, 42.4% from three, and 86.4% from 3-point range. These numbers were, though, put up against (mostly) Missouri Valley competition. And while he will be playing with more talented teammates this year at Northwestern, the competition level will also take a step up.

On the whole, Northwestern returns Vic Law (12.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Dererk Pardon (11.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) as double-digit scorers but Taylor may be the primary scoring option within the offense this season. As a fifth-year senior, Taylor will be one of the most experienced players on the roster this year and he will need to take on a major scoring burden. As a team, Northwestern ranked just 288th in the nation in scoring last season (68.8 ppg) and therefore the addition of Taylor has the potential to seriously raise the team’s ceiling.

If he is able to consistently post 15+ points per game, and that is being modest, then Northwestern may emerge as a surprise team in the Big East. The Wildcats were extremely disappointing compared to expectations this past season but they will be back to being the “hunter” rather than the “hunted” this time around. With three proven scorers on the roster along with a rising group of underclassmen, Northwestern may be able to exceed expectations this season.

At the forefront of this, though, will need to be Taylor. Without his high-volume scoring night in and night out, Northwestern will struggle to keep pace with many teams in the conference. The Big Ten is expected to be extremely deep this year in terms of talented teams and Taylor’s scoring and experience may be the difference in crunch time. Taylor shouldered a ton of the scoring burden last season for Evansville so he is more than prepared to handle the scoring duties this season.

Over the course of last season, Taylor (when playing – he missed seven games) accounted for nearly one-third of Evansville’s scoring. Also, considering his high volume of shot attempts, Taylor was fairly efficient from the floor. Additionally, it is important to note that, despite leading the Aces in usage percentage (34.5%) by a considerable margin, he boasted the lowest turnover percentage (10.2%) on the roster.

In total, Taylor will play a major role for Northwestern this season. Along with returners Law and Pardon, Taylor will be one of the top scoring options for head coach Chris Collins. If he is able to replicate the offensive success he had with Evansville while with the ‘Cats, then the fans in purple will be very happy this season. Quite simply, Taylor has the potential to play a starring role on a potential dark horse team in the Big Ten.