Marshall University Athletics
@HerdMBB's Taylor Earns Trio of Awards
1/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
IRVING, Texas - Senior forward Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) was named Conference USA's Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Along with his C-USA honor, he was also named American Sports Network and College Court Report's Player of the Week as well.
Taylor is the third Marshall player to earn C-USA's Player of the Week this season, with junior guard Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) and senior guard Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) being the other recipients. It is the first time the Indianapolis native has received C-USA's Player of the Week honor and the first time in school history where three players have won C-USA's Player of the Week in the same season.
Marshall is also the first C-USA school to have three players honored in the same year since Louisiana Tech's Alex Hamilton, Raheem Appleby and Kenneth "Speedy" Smith all received the award in the 2014-15 season.
Taylor is coming off a week where he averaged a double-double (25.3 points and 13.3 rebounds), while also averaging 2.0 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals in three games. He earned three straight double-doubles for the first time since Feb. 5-14, 2015.
"Ryan has really come along this past week," head coach Dan D'Antoni said. "He is finally fully healthy, so we are able to see what he can really do on the court. Not only does he do well with scoring and rebounding, but he does a great job communicating while on or off the floor as well. He is really stepping up his play during conference games and we will need that."
The Indianapolis native scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed a previous season-high 13 rebounds in the 89-73 victory at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 2). The senior also added two assists, made two steals and collected a block in 35 minutes of action.
Taylor's 21 points against Old Dominion helped Marshall become the first school to score 90 points on the Monarchs in 179 games (last at Richmond, Dec. 20, 2011). The Herd was also the first school to score 70 points on Old Dominion this season. The Indianapolis native also made a career-high five blocks and pulled down 13 rebounds.
His 24 points against Charlotte helped Marshall score 110 points in regulation for the first time since the 1996 season. To add on, he pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds, made one block and dished out three assists.
Taylor stands alone in Marshall history, as he is the only player with at least 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 250 assists.
Up next, Marshall will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m. Both teams are the only two undefeated sides left in league play thus far.
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