Taggart had a big game for City Rocks as his perimeter shooting ability helped them grab an early advantage. With a high release point and range that extends beyond the 3-point arc, every shot Taggart takes with his feet set looks like it’s going in. Taggart had a monster first half where it looked like nobody could stop his combination of perimeter shooting and strong frame and explosiveness. While Taggart fizzled a bit in the second half, his natural ability suggests he’s underrecruited at the moment and should look to add to his mid-major offer list this weekend if he can string together some big performances like the one he had in the first half on Tuesday.

Taggart has a confidence and conviction in his game that you just can’t teach. No matter how he’s shooting or what the score is, the 6-foot-4 combo-guard thinks he’s going to make the next shot he takes (and he’s probably right). With a roster of 5 players on Friday, the Putnam Science star took tons of contested shots, but he made a good percentage of them and really impressed as a creator and shooter. He doesn’t see contests and makes deep threes with ease, and he’s able to find cutters when the defense overplays him. Defensively, he does a phenomenal job sliding his feet and walling up against bigger players—he’s WAY stronger than he looks.

One of the elite shooters in the 2027 class, Taggart is firing away seven times a game from long distance during the EYBL for City Rocks. Taggart does a nice job relocating off the basketball and has a quick release and good pre-catch habits to catch and shoot past a hard closeout. Taggart’s Putnam Science School has joined the OTE league and I’d assume the fast and open style of play will be beneficial for Taggart. I’d imagine Taggart contributes early in his college career if he picks a local mid major program, La Salle and Iona are recent offers for Taggart.

City Rocks got a huge overtime victory to end their weekend 2-1 and Taggart made some huge plays down the stretch to defeat Drive Nation on Sunday. No shot I saw all weekend was bigger than Taggert’s four-point play with 30 seconds left to take the lead. Taggart knocks down shots off movement and has a quick release off the catch. I liked Taggart’s movement off the ball and some of the designed sets City Rocks ran to free him up for looks around the perimeter. Taggart pitched in just over 12 points per game this weekend and I’ll be looking for him to impact the game in other ways besides shooting throughout the summer.

Putnam has built a dynasty over the past half-decade in the prep school landscape built largely on the back of a tough-nosed, defense-first culture. This year’s group is no different but is complemented by the explosive offensive exploits of Taggart, a repeat junior from the Rochester area. Simply put, Taggart is as microwaveable a shooter and scorer as there is in prep school, with the ability to get hot at a moment’s notice and connect on a half-dozen or more 3s before the defense is even able to react. He’s a bit streaky at times but if he can get going in a game or two this week, it could prove to be the difference for Putnam in taking home the hardware.

Taggart, a junior guard out of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, has taken on a huge scoring role for his team this winter. The 6’4″ guard is averaging 18.3 points per game while knocking down 69% of his two-point field goal attempts and 43% of his attempts from three. He recently broke Putnam’s single-game record for made threes when he knocked down 10 in a win over Thetford. While his shooting certainly catches the eye, as it should, it’s the other parts of his game that have elevated his play this winter. He has great positional size, the ability to create for himself and others off the bounce, and uses his length well as a finisher around the rim.

Taggart is awesome. The 6-foot-4 guard had two good shooting performances this weekend, but we already knew he had that in his game. What impressed me most was his ability to drive closeouts and finish athletically at the rim against a very good Newman team on Sunday. The 6-foot-4 guard has ridiculously long arms and is far better with the rock in his hands than people think. I was also incredibly floored by his ability to defend ALL positions with strength and toughness. He had one possession against Atticus Richmond Atticus Richmond 6'8" | PF Newman School | 2026 State New E than made my jaw drop. Taggart is stronger than he looks, and I’m very high on him.

The most consistent shooter I have seen in all of the prep schools and NEBL based off seeing Jalen more than once. There are a ton of good shooters but I only have seen those other players once. I was thrilled to watch Jalen take his game to the next level since the beginning of the year watching him take his guy off the bounce to the cup. He gets seperation off the bounce and made multiple contested layups. Jalen makes contested shots from anywhere on the floor. He is a special player and only 5 D1 offers is head scratching. One more year and with lots of upside. He sits at #21 (Top 15 in my opinion) in the class of 2027 rankings but that is whack in itself because he is way better than players ahead of him.

Taggart, out of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, checks in at #6 among the combo guards and #21 overall. Taggart started the season on fire, scored 20+ points in a handful of games, and was named to the ZG Prep Classic 1st Team in December. The 6’4″ guard plays with elite athletic pop and has established himself as one of the better perimeter defenders in New England. This year, he has taken on a bigger scoring roll, proving to be efficient both at the rim as a finisher and from behind the arc as a shooter.

He finished with 16 points and 2 rebounds, connecting on several timely threes. He made an immediate impact off the bench, knocking down a left corner three, then another from the same spot, followed by a right corner three. He capped off his personal run with a top of the key three late in the shot clock, providing a major spark for his team.