This week, in advance of Purdue opening preseason practice Friday, GoldandBlack.com is taking a detailed look at each of Purdue's scholarship players for the 2015-16 season.
We are going in descending order by height for order. Redshirt freshman big man Jacquil Taylor is up.
Where things stand: Taylor's coming off a season in which he played just a handful of games before being pulled off the floor in order to pursue a medical waiver to get a redshirt season, or however you want to term it. That bid was successful and so Taylor retains freshman eligibility, even though he played six games (and 42 minutes) a year ago.
Taylor's been bothered constantly by the fallout from an ankle injury suffered as a junior in high school and says it's still an issue, even after he barely practiced all season last year after being pulled out the playing mix during the non-conference season.
So Job 1 remains for him to get, and stay, healthy to actually show people what we can do at full strength.
The good news for Taylor is that time is on his side.
Purdue doesn't need him any time soon, considering its loaded post corps currently. The Boilermaker coaching staff can invest time in him to try to get him ready for the day when its other current bigs are gone.
That's not to say he's being written off for the short term, but it's hard to look at Purdue's depth chart and find a lot of minutes for a young player who's still kind of a 'tweener between positions and hasn't practiced all that much as a Boilermaker to this point.
Keys to success: Get, and stay, healthy.
That's the most important thing.
But strength remains a deficiency for the lanky 6-foot-10 forward/center also, something that will remain a long-term emphasis.
You will never hear anyone take issue with Taylor's effort. Since the day he arrived on campus last year, his effort has been exemplary, by every account, and you could see that during the summer when Taylor would fight Purdue's other bigs in workouts, vs. matchups in which, on paper, he was overmatched.
Projected role: Again, there doesn't have to be any hurry to get Taylor on the floor, barring anything unforeseen, so time is on his side.
Also, it's hard to say right now whether Taylor is more of a power forward - where Purdue might prefer a little more skill (passing, decision-making, etc.) than Taylor may possess at this stage - or undersized center, where he doesn't have the size and strength yet of Purdue's other bigs. Taylor is something different than the other members of the Boilermakers' post corps in that he's longer and more athletic, though his health impacts his athleticism.
From a skill perspective, Taylor can shoot jump shots, as well.
At this point in his career though, Taylor looks like a player better suited to impact games defensively, because he's long and athletic, a potentially effective shot-blocker and moves very well for a player his size.
What the future may hold: Again, so much remains to be seen, but in a perfect world, Taylor gets healthy and stays that way to the point he might be able to help in a limited capacity this season, then is ready beginning in 2016 for a more prominent role.
Here's the story we did last month that included Taylor …
Purdue's Battle Royal
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