It took some time, but Eagles basketball coach Steve Donahue is starting to put the pieces together on the recruiting trail. On Tuesday, Donahue signed Monmouth transfer Travis Taylor. Taylor is a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Union, NJ who averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds last season. Taylor chose the Eagles over Seton Hall and Temple.
People close to Taylor seem to be saying all the right things about his decision to join Donahue at BC:
"It was well thought out and he and his family asked all of the right questions. Travis loved the campus, the academic reputation and the coaching staff. He has an opportunity to earn immediate playing time in one of the best conferences in the country. Steve Donahue is a proven coach and will do a tremendous job in Travis’s maturation process on and off the court."
Taylor has been playing organized basketball for only four years. During his first two years in high school, his school - St. James Prep in Newark - only had a startup program. When he transfered to Union High, his HS career began to take off. He averaged 15.9 points, 12.7 rebounds in his senior season, leading his team to a 21-8 record.
Joining Taylor in the class of 2011 is Oregon transfer Matt Humphrey. A 6-foot-5 wing, Humphrey averaged a disappointing 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in a season where he was plagued by injury. He only played in 19 games for the Ducks in 2009-10, sitting out two months with a knee injury.
Here's what the Oregonian has to say about Humphrey:
"Humphrey brought a streaky left-handed shot - he averaged more three-pointers than any Oregon player other than Tajuan Porter last season - and an emotional presence to the game. Perhaps no Ducks player had more fist pumps or displays of emotion than Humphrey."
We'll take all the Jersey Shore-style fist pumps we can get at this point.
With the signings of Taylor and Humphrey, the next two years of Boston College basketball are slowly coming into focus. Here is a look at what the roster currently looks like:
2010 (11)
G - Reggie Jackson (Jr.), Biko Paris (Sr.), Dallas Elmore (Jr.), Gabe Moton (Fr.), Eddie Odio (Fr.), Nick Mosakowski (Sr.), Peter Rehnquist (Jr.)
F - Corey Raji (Sr.), Joe Trapani (Sr.), Cortney Dunn (Sr.)
C - Josh Southern (Sr.)
2011 (8)
G - Reggie Jackson (Sr.), Dallas Elmore (Sr.), Matthew Humphrey (Jr.), Gabe Moton (Fr.), Eddie Odio (So.), Peter Rehnquist (Sr.)
F - Travis Taylor (Jr.), Dennis Clifford (Fr.)