T.J. Taylor, a former Denison standout who spent time at Oklahoma and Marquette, is on an official visit to UNT today.
A UNT source confirmed that the 6-3 shooting guard is on a visit to the school Thursday afternoon. Taylor said earlier in the day via text message that, “nothing is set in stone” as far as where he will continue his college basketball career.
New UNT head coach Tony Benford is a former Marquette assistant and recruited Taylor to the Big East Conference school.
Taylor arrived at Marquette in early July and left the school in a matter of days to return to Denison.
“We are in complete support of his decision and we wish him all the best in his future as a student-athlete,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said in a statement after releasing Taylor.
Taylor signed with Oklahoma out of Denison, but suffered a concussion in his first season at the school, struggled to recover and did not play. Oklahoma planed to redshirt Taylor, but released him when he decided to transfer.
Taylor landed at Paris Junior College, where he averaged 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists and was named a third-team JUCO All-American.
Taylor could be eligible this season, if he receives a release from Marquette and enrolls at UNT, which has filled all of its scholarships for next season.
If UNT and Taylor can work through those issues, he could fill one of the few holes on what could be UNT’s best team of the last several years next season.
UNT returns its top seven scorers from a team that lost to Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference tournament final, including Tony Mitchell, a 6-8 forward who is considered one of the top players in college basketball. Taylor could give UNT another outside shooting threat to complement Mitchell.
Starting shooting guard Brandan Walton shot 36.7 percent from 3-point range and hit 54 3-pointers last season. UNT does not have another guard returning who hit more than 23 3-pointers on the season. UNT ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the Sun Belt in 3-point field goal shooting at 32.1 percent.
Taylor shot 36.1 percent from 3-point range at Paris last season. Playing on a team with several other top scoring threats could help Taylor’s shooting percentage improve.
UNT seems like it would be a good fit for Taylor due to its proximity to his home in Denison and the way he could fit into the Mean Green’s roster.
Taylor’s other option appears to be returning to Paris JC for another year. He could play his sophomore year in junior college and then go through the recruiting process again.