NBA Scout's view on Guard Jermaine Taylor

We had the pleasure of sitting (standing really) behind a Celtics scout taking notes on our very own Jermaine Taylor on Tuesday against Holy Cross. He watched the entire game from the writers table in front of the student section, and seeing as how we get the front row every single game, we had the opportunity to take a few quick peeks over his shoulder! His name is Leo Papile, and has been with the Celtics for 10 years. His title is "Assistant Executive Director of Basketball Operations," and in his bio (which you can find at the bottom of this post) he is also listed as the head scout for the Celtics. A few things we were able to see from his notes about Jermaine:

• Size is a +
• Body is a +
• Total team guy
• Plays the right way
• Quick player
• 4th quarter player
• He sees and dishes

All great things. We also overheard coach Kirk Speraw speaking to the scout after the game. The exchange went something like:

• Kirk: The kid is good, one of the best in the nation
  
• Leo: I can see he's good, he's definitely good.
  
• Kirk: Trust me on this one, he's worth it. He's very good. Trust me.
  

Vin's thoughts: First off, it is absolutely awesome that Jermaine is drawing the attention of some NBA scouts. I gotta say, if there was ever a game for a scout to view, last night was the one. I've been hard on Jermaine in the past, saying he has a hard time making his own shot, and that his ball handling skills leave a lot to be desired... Well, he shut me up last night. Jermaine made some fantastic baseline moves, and was money from downtown. He has really come into his own, and at just the right time. CUSA already knew Jermaine could ball, now the NBA is finally getting their preview.

Matt's opinion: First of all, big thanks goes out to our good buddy Evan R. He's the one who noticed that the guy in front of us wasn't one of the regular writers, and that he had shot charts with Boston Celtics logos on them. He even went on to read Leo's chickenscratch writing (very smiliar to Evan's own writing) and got his name. He followed that up by using his all knowing iPhone to google him and get all information possible at the game. He was the one to write down all the information as well, so huge thanks to him. Anyway, this is HUGE. The only player I could find to ever play for UCF and go on to the NBA was Stan Kimbrough, who only played one year for Central Florida and then transferred to Xavier for his final 3 years of school. This is an absolute giant step for our program, and should definitely help both recruiting and ticket sales in the immediate future. Kirk will finally be able to ask recruits, "Do you want to be the next Jermaine Taylor? Because I think you have what it takes." I constantly hear of players in both football and basketball being told that they "can be the next (insert elite player here.)" Extremely exciting for the future of our program.

Leo Papile's Bio