He's going to sign with us as soon as the SEC clears him which should be a week or two.

He can dunk with two hands.

Looks like a good stretch 4. Big wingspan.

Another nice thing about him, as you notice in that opening YouTube, Taylor has 3 years of eligibility remaining.

Taylor committed to NCSU.
Bummer.

Yeah he didn't qualify for us so no go.

Don't think there's any questioning the state of our AD right now. Just a damn shame it takes a lot of work to push common sense through the system.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

If someone is good enough academically to go to A&M or Vandy, there should be no question that they are up to SEC standards.

Gap said:

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Basketball and Chain said:

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This is all on the SEC office.

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To me that means it is all on our Athletic Dept for not championing it through whatever hoops were needed to get the correct hearing in a timely manner.

We can hire all the great coaches we want, but we also need a 21st century support staff in our athletic department supporting our coaches.

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Curious, but what are the exact deficiencies of our AD support staff compared to other SEC schools? We have a smaller staff than the other SEC schools, a smaller budget or inferior management and business processes in place? What are the specific differences?

Pumpkinhead said:

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Gap said:

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Basketball and Chain said:

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This is all on the SEC office.

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To me that means it is all on our Athletic Dept for not championing it through whatever hoops were needed to get the correct hearing in a timely manner.

We can hire all the great coaches we want, but we also need a 21st century support staff in our athletic department supporting our coaches.

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Curious, but what are the exact deficiencies of our AD support staff compared to other SEC schools? We have a smaller staff than the other SEC schools, a smaller budget or inferior management and business processes in place? What are the specific differences?

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Well, the big one is probably that we currently don't have a permanent AD, but other than that I agree, no huge systemic issue.

TnAg23 said:

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Pumpkinhead said:

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Gap said:

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Basketball and Chain said:

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This is all on the SEC office.

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To me that means it is all on our Athletic Dept for not championing it through whatever hoops were needed to get the correct hearing in a timely manner.

We can hire all the great coaches we want, but we also need a 21st century support staff in our athletic department supporting our coaches.

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Curious, but what are the exact deficiencies of our AD support staff compared to other SEC schools? We have a smaller staff than the other SEC schools, a smaller budget or inferior management and business processes in place? What are the specific differences?

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Well, the big one is probably that we currently don't have a permanent AD, but other than that I agree, no huge systemic issue.

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My understanding is that Stephanie Rempe (Deputy AD) and Justin Moore (Senior Associate AD) are pretty sharp folks and actually handled most of the relationship and details to close the Buzz Williams hire. So I'm skeptical our current transition from Woodward to a new AD caused some sort of leadership vacuum that would have affected much this basketball recruit situation.

It is odd of course how this SEC waiver went from apparently being thought 'just a formality' to either denied or hung up in a death queue at the SEC office. I don't know if there were some details about Taylor's academic situation that popped up late to throw a monkey wrench or miscommunication or unexpected SEC bureaucratic red tape or what, but that is the most puzzling about this.

I beg to differ. He sounded like good depth, at the minimum. We would be a better team with him than without him...

If Pumpkinhead's count is correct, then we have three open scholarships. Maybe we can fill them with Emanuel Miller, Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Jalen Cone? (If we are lunkcy)

1)Mitchell
2)Nebo
3)Flagg
4)Starks
5)Chandler
6)Walker
7)Quenton Jackson
8)Yeezy Gultekin
9)Cashius McNeilly
10)Andre Gordon

It was previously presented that he had already graduated and now he is still taking classes but expected to graduate over the summer. Doesnt mean it isnt a bad rule but it does sort of lend creedence to what mr van gundy says.

These aren't strange or extreme circumstances. It seems very direct and a perfectly acceptable progression academically.

If what is presented here has been accurate, it in no way violated any principle of integrity that the rule was trying to uphold. It takes leadership to be able to understand when a rule isn't protecting the principle it was supposed to uphold.

And I can't imagine our new basketball staff was working on this. This is a administrative support staff activity.

This rule perchance? Listed as a freshman for 2018-2019:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/sec-official-explains-origin-of-rare-rule-that-restricts-juco-recruiting/

greg.w.h said:

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This rule perchance? Listed as a freshman for 2018-2019:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/sec-official-explains-origin-of-rare-rule-that-restricts-juco-recruiting/

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That looks like it, but it doesn't seem that the guy we were recruiting fit into the scenario they were trying to avoid as he wasn't a juco-to-juco transfer as far as I know AND if they consider the prep school to be like a juco then he is over the 3 semester rule.

Quote:

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Greg Sankey, executive associate commissioner of the SEC, told me that the rule was implemented in 1993 and has been modified twice -- first in 2008, then again in 2012. But the gist of the rule has forever been what I described in the column, and the reason behind it is that the SEC determined long ago that non-qualifiers who become JUCO-to-JUCO transfers simply do not go on to graduate at the four-year level with much frequency.

"Over time we've learned the graduation rate at the four-year level diminishes greatly the more frequently an individual transfers, and [prospects] at the junior-college level [who are] non-qualifiers are very much negatively impacted by those transfers when they're looking to graduate [at the four-year level]," Sankey said. "The rates are extremely low."

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Hop said:

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I'm speculating, but maybe the SEC office wouldn't rule on the waiver until he actually graduated. He has to take summer session I courses, according to the kid.

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The SEC office waiting to rule on the 3-semester requirement waiver until AFTER he had finished summer session 1 courses and officially graduated....sheds a lot of light on this and - bad rule or not - makes it more understandable what happened.

I assume that both the staff and Atticus Taylor could have opted to let this play out though the summer, if they were 100% confident of the kid crossing the finish line on graduation and then eventually getting the waiver. But both parties instead were okay with parting ways.

I don't understand why that would be necessary if you define what scenario is being "conditionally" approved. If he doesn't graduate from the school he now attends and bounces to another juco, then the approval would be void.

Exactly. Pretty big difference in "graduated" and "should graduate after he completes and passes summer 1 classes". If we are trying to get him enrolled in the spring, he hasn't even passed his spring classes, or even begun his summer classes.

BTW, another 2019 wing recruit still in play for A&M is former Virginia Tech commit Emanuel Miller.

He finally asked for release from his LOI. Is a 6' 7" SF type. Actually, I personally like Miller more as a recruit than Taylor.

http://northpolehoops.com/2019/05/02/emanuel-miller-receives-release-from-virginia-tech-best-available-canadian/

As mentioned below, Buzz Williams is still recruiting him but so are lots of other schools.

Quote:

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Emanuel Miller's phone, and those in his circle will need to have their battery charged at 100% as his recruitment re-opens. He has officially received the release from Virginia Tech and will be exploring options for next season.

Before Buzz Williams accepted the job at Texas A&M, Miller was committed to Virginia Tech. He brings the type of aggression, tenacity and motor that a coach like Williams can rock with.

"I'm still in contact with Coach Williams, we still have a great relationship, but there's no harm in seeing what's out there for me. It's a big decision."

Illinois, Oklahoma, St. Bonaventure, Pitt, and a slew more had offered the high motor wing prior to his commitment to Virginia Tech.

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