The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Donell Taylor Named Conference USA Player Of The Week
12/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2004
DALLAS, Texas - UAB senior guard Donell Taylor has been named Conference USA Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, the league announced today. Taylor is UAB's leading scorer and is coming off a week in which he was named to the all-tournament team at the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawai`i. It is the first player of the week pick for UAB on the season.
"Donell has been playing very well this year," UAB head coach Mike Anderson said. "He has been strong offensively and defensively, but has more importantly been consistent. We are certainly in agreement that he is deserving of the honor."
Taylor averaged 18.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals during UAB's three games in Honolulu. He was the second-leading scorer in the eight-team field, opening the tournament with a career-high 26 points in a 78-66 win against Clemson, to move into seventh place on the C-USA scoring chart (16.6 ppg). Taylor also grabbed a career-best nine rebounds and led the Blazers with 19 points in a narrow loss to USC. In the three games, Taylor shot an impressive 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the field and hit 17-of-19 free throws (.895). The Blazers finished third in the Rainbow Classic with a 2-1 record.
For the season, Taylor leads the Blazers (7-3) with a 16.6 points-per-game average. He also averages 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. UAB next hosts Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night in Bartow Arena.
