Jermaine Taylor Named CUSA Player of the Year

After posting the most prolific scoring campaign in league history, UCF senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.) has been named the Conference USA Player of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday. Taylor averaged a league-record 29.1 points in C-USA play.

An All-America candidate, Taylor is third nationally, averaging 26.6 points an outing. He has led the Knights in scoring in 29 of the team’s 30 contests. Taylor has recorded nine 30-point showings, plus a 40-point performance.

His 466 points against C-USA foes this season was also a conference record. On Monday, he earned a spot on the All-C-USA First Team.

Taylor is the first Knight to receive league player of the year honors since Mark Jones was honored by the Atlantic Sun in 1997-98. C-USA head coaches and media members selected Taylor for the honor.

In 13 of UCF’s 14 conference games, he scored at least 20 points. His 45 points against Rice on Feb. 25 ranked second on the league’s single-game register. Taylor’s 286 field goals in 2008-09 are already good for a league record. In C-USA action, his 163 field goals established a new conference mark.

Taylor is among the C-USA leaders in field goal (48.5-6th) and 3-point field goal (38.4-4th) percentage. He has knocked down 91 triples this season.

Taylor closed the regular season in strong fashion, averaging 35.1 points in UCF’s final seven contests. He leads all active UCF players on the glass, grabbing 5.3 rebounds per contest. Taylor, who is listed at 6-foot-4, is also first on the team with 24 blocks.

During the campaign, he received C-USA Player of the Week honors five times. The five awards were the most in a single season since 2002-03 when Dwyane Wade of Marquette was recognized on five occasions.

Taylor currently ranks fourth on the C-USA career list with 1,964 points. He is UCF’s all-time scoring leader at the Division I level. The senior has already received all-district honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association.

Taylor and the Knights will open the C-USA Championship on Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn. Sixth-seeded UCF will face No. 11 Southern Miss in the first round at 3:30 p.m. Eastern at the FedEx Forum.