Article published Aug 2, 2005
Tide's Taylor leaving team
By Cecil Hurt
Sports Editor
TUSCALOOSA | Shawn Taylor, a 6-foot-11 center on last year's University of
Alabama basketball team, will leave UA to play at Chipola (Fla.) Junior
College this season, Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried said on Monday.
Gottfried said he wished Taylor well but was "disappointed" in the decision,
which was based on Taylor's desire for immediate playing time.
"Shawn was still developing and I think he would have eventually matured
into a good player for us," Gottfried said. "This is also a prime example of
how you can get hurt on the APR (the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate). This
will count against us even though it's a situation that was totally beyond
our control."
Taylor, a native of Unadilla, Ga., sat out the 2003-04 season as a redshirt.
He appeared in 11 games last season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds
per game in those appearances.
Alabama appears set on the interior for the upcoming season with seniors
Chuck Davis and Evan Brock, junior Jermareo Davidson and freshmen Richard
Hendrix and Yamene Coleman. However, Taylor's departure will leave UA with
no more than 11 players on scholarship for the upcoming season, two below
the NCAA limit of 13. Additionally, UA is still awaiting word on the
academic status of junior college signee Ray George. The 6-4 guard is
finishing classes at Perimeter Junior College in Decatur, Ga., and is not
yet eligible for the upcoming season.
Coleman, a 6-9 center from Wilcox County, was recently cleared for freshman
eligibility by the NCAA Clearinghouse and is expected to arrive on the UA
campus later this month.
Since last season, Alabama has had four scholarship players transfer out of
the program: Taylor, Akini Adkins, Glenn Miles and Albert Weber. The Tide
also lost leading scorer Kennedy Winston, who left school early to pursue a
professional career but was not selected in the NBA draft.
With three seniors (Davis, Brock and Jean Felix) on next year's roster,
Alabama could be looking to sign as many as six players in the upcoming
recruiting season, which begins in November. The Crimson Tide already has
two commitments, guard Mikhael Torrance of Mobile and forward Avery Jukes of
Atlanta.
In other men's basketball news, Gottfried said he anticipated finalizing the
Crimson Tide's 2005-06 schedule "in the next week or two."
"We're waiting on one more game," Gottfried said. "We hope to have
everything completed soon."
In addition to its Southeastern Conference schedule, Alabama will play its
usual demanding non-conference slate. The Crimson Tide will open the season
against Miami (Ohio) in the Preseason NIT. UA would face a potential
second-round game against Memphis, and could play teams like UCLA and Duke
if it reaches the tournament semifinals in New York.
Alabama also has home games with Notre Dame and North Carolina State and
road contests against Temple and Oklahoma on its early schedule.
Reach Cecil Hurt at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (205) 722-0225.
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