Taylor, Smith have lived up to hype for ETSU

Brian Taylor II and Jaylen Smith were the most talked about transfers coming to the East Tennessee State basketball program before the season. The two have certainly lived up to the hype, helping the Bucs to a 15-6 overall record and 7-1 in the Southern Conference going into Thursday's game against Western Carolina. Taylor, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, has been the team's leading scorer much of the season. He's currently third behind post players Cam Morris III and Blake Barkley, but that shows his unselfish play. He's averaging 14 points per game and ranks second on the team with 62 assists. Smith, coming off the bench in a sixth-man role, averages 9.6 points per game and has 61 assists. "They've really been great," Savage said. "B.T. has settled into a role where he has to have more scoring production. He's super team-oriented, not a diva where he has to have shots all the time. He wants to win, and it doesn't have to happen a certain way." While Smith is one of the four top scorers, it's his work on the other side of the floor which ETSU coach Brooks Savage sees as the biggest improvement. His 36 steals are a team-best, a player with more steals than turnovers. "Jaylen has come a long way on the defensive end," Savage said. "The stuff he's really improved at doesn't always show up on the film. When Jaylen is touching the paint, getting other guys involved and stirring the drink for us, he makes everybody else better. He can make shots, make plays, but he's really improved defensively." Taylor, a transfer from SIU Edwardsville, was a known commodity. He was an All-Ohio Valley Conference player who ranked second on the team at 11.9 points and three assists per game. He helped the No. 2 seed Cougars win the OVC tournament last season before falling to Houston in the NCAA tournament. While he enjoyed his time in Southern Illinois, he likes the atmosphere in East Tennessee. "A lot of places I've been there's a lot of different things to distract you, with Johnson City it's been school and basketball," Taylor said. "It's also the group of guys we have and being able to hang out with them. It's been fun to relax, enjoy myself and do the work." Taylor, along with Maki Johnson and other teammates, often hang around each other in their spare time. He said the closeness they enjoy off the court has helped a team that featured nine transfers bond on the court. "It's been good, the environment that I've been around," Taylor said. "It's been new to me and the guys, but we've enjoyed it and adapted to it." Smith, a 5-11 junior transfer from North Florida, averaged 11.4 points and an Atlantic Sun Conference best 5.7 assists per game last season. He started early in the season, but transitioned to the sixth-man role. He loves the fact there are capable teammates able to take on different roles. Still, he's one of the team leaders in minutes played and even shares the floor with the Bucs' starting point guard, Allen Strothers, when Savage decides to go with a smaller lineup. Coming from an athletic family, his cousin Al Blue, was a defensive back on Bear Bryant's last Alabama football team in 1982. As for Jaylen, he loves playing inside Freedom Hall Civic Center where the Bucs are 11-1 at home this season. "It's good here, and the fans are great," Smith said. "Every game, the fans show the utmost respect and they love the guys. They give us great feedback so it's fun."