Deidrick may not have had his best shooting performance, but he did so many other things to help lead Edison past Patrick Henry. He has electric speed on the ball, and used that to get into the lane at will. Once there he had his eyes scanning for a dump-off pass to one of his bigs, leading to plenty of assist opportunities. Even though his shot wasn’t falling, his ability to get into the paint allowed him to earn trips to the free throw line for some easy points. One of those free throws saw him become the all time scoring leader at Edison. Defensively his speed allowed him to deflect or steal a bunch of passes, and those steals led to plenty of 2v1 situations in transition. Finished with 22 points in an exciting win.

I thought Deidrick did a nice job of playing unselfish basketball in a setting where a lot of players tend to shot-hunt. Has the skill-set and quickness that probably would have allowed him to consistently get off shots on his own, but instead was looking to keep his teammates involved. As we’ve seen in the high school season before, he’s very dangerous when he gets out in the open floor, because he’s lighting quick and can effortlessly change directions with the ball in his hands. Gets good elevation on his jumper to get shots off against longer defenders as well. Will be one of the top guards in the Minneapolis City Conference this winter.

Deidrick seemed to be all over the place making plays in a win for Real Phenom-Ivan on Saturday morning. Defensively he’s a pest on the ball, but has great instincts off the ball to jump passes or cut off driving lanes. Once he forces a turnover he has so much speed in the open floor to get all the way to the basket. Taylor may be one of the smallest players in every game he plays, but his body control around the basket allows him to hang in the air and finish over bigger players. Unselfish point guard who gets the ball in the hands of his teammates in openings, and can also get into the paint to create better looks for them.

Deidrick has been one of the top point guards in the City Conference, and it showed as he put up 29 points on Wednesday night. He’s so quick changing directions on the ball, and was able to get to any spot he wanted to over the course of the game. At 5’8 he’s fearless attacking the basket, and always keeps his eyes at the rim allowing him to finish at a higher percentage than most. Because of his size he’s adapted to avoid getting his shots blocked by taller defenders, and with that he has excellent touch to place the ball high off the backboard and still finish. Defensively he’s one of those players who seems to be all over the place making plays. He utilized his quickness to pressure the ball in the full court, jumped a passing lane leading to an open lay-up, and also tipped a pass and dove on the floor which lead to another turnover.

Deidrick looks like he’ll be one of the top point guards in the Minneapolis City Conference this season, and will be ready to help Edison compete for a conference title. He never takes a play off, is very poised on the ball, and even in a camp setting was extremely unselfish. Deidrick wasn’t forcing anything offensively, and was able to capitalize on what the defense gave him. Taylor is a threat from beyond the arc, but can also blow by defenders off the dribble and finish away from his body to help him score against size. He has good hands defensively to force turnovers, and has the quickness to turn those steals into two points on the other end.

Edison played really fast yesterday as they were constantly looking to push the ball ahead, and Deidrick fits that style of play perfectly. He’s extremely quick on the ball but is also unselfish and knows when to pass it ahead. Taylor is often one of the smallest players in the game but is fearless going to the rim and has excellent touch to score with floaters over the top while also being able to go into contact and draw fouls. Hit a few outside shots and forced turnovers on defense with his quickness to jump passing lanes.