Tyler Mounce:
Future150 Camp Reporter. Providing insight into Future150 Camp players.
Hackensack, NJ (Future150) -- It’ not to easy to standout as a 6th grader, but some can rise to challenge.
Atiba Taylor Jr. a 5-foot-11 guard out of Hackensack, New Jersey did just that last year.
He does stand taller than most kids his age, so you could say that is main reason that he sticks out, but the real reason is because of the skills he possesses that makes him the noticeable star on his team.
Taylor is great ball handler on the court. He gets around defenders with great ease, making them look silly at times. He also utilizes the same skills to provide his teammates with excellent passes, setting them up for their own shot.
When it comes to shooting the ball he manages to do it fairly well, with some tremendous consistency. If he doesn’t have to shoot the three, he will take the ball hard to the basket finishing very strong at the rim.
The best thing about Taylor may be his ability to shoot and make clutch shots, when his team really needs it. He is fearless on the floor and everyone knows it.
With all the skills that he has, he is considered one of the premier players in Middle School.
Although he has lot of strengths in his game, he does realize his
biggest weakness that he needs to work on.
“I have to improve upon my defense,” he provided. “I know it will help me build my overall game.”
Considering his talent and size, he has an NBA player that he admires and feels that is quite comparable to himself.
“I like to think and compare myself to Penny Hardaway,” he claimed. “My size and guard skills are a lot like Hardaway's.”
The young guard has been invited to and attended lots of camps over the past couple of years. He has even been invited to camp at Manhattan College.
All of the camps have allowed him to progress his skills and increase his overall talent level.
If continuing on the same path he is right now, he will be an elite guard for many years to come. Being an elite guard could allow him to attend a college of his choice and he has some ideas on what those might be.
“Kentucky and Syracuse would be a good option for me and my future,” he suggested. “I like Kentucky because a lot of great NBA players have come from that school.”
Although he seems to have a great plan for the future, he is just a kid right now and still has many years before any decisions have to be made.
For now he will continue working very hard on the court to be best that he can be.
Comments:
This kid is the future of the NBA. You should sign-up to be his Publicist and shop him his television deal now.
The kid is one dimensional, he can only go left comfortably. That’s the scouting report on him, force him right, he can’t use his right had well at all to finish and is uncomfortable going right in general. He generally like to go left for a score or left to pass to the right. I don’t see him in the NBA, his only advantage now is height which will quickly disappear at each next level.