Few people would deny that senior forward Alando Tucker is the unquestioned leader of the Wisconsin men's basketball team. His consistent 20 points per game and savvy veteran leadership quickly put that debate to rest.
But while Tucker receives most of the national media attention for leading the Badgers to unprecedented heights, it has quickly become evident that the Badgers' fate is often determined in large part by the play of senior point guard Kammron Taylor.
A quick glance at the stat sheet shows a strong correlation between Taylor's success on a given day and the success of the entire team. In the games against Mercer, Southern, UW-Green Bay, Auburn and Florida State, games the Badgers breezed through, Taylor posted solid numbers. He averaged 15.2 points on 67 percent shooting in those five games.
""The offense starts with how the point guard plays,"" Taylor said. ""He has to come out and dictate the tempo of the game. It's like the quarterback on a football team.""
But while Taylor's success bodes well for the Badgers, his struggles have proven to have the same effect in the other direction. It is likely no coincidence that the Badgers' two poorest performances—a sluggish victory over Delaware State and a loss to Missouri State—came during Taylor's sub-standard games. In those two contests, Taylor averaged just 4.5 points on 25 percent shooting.
""With Kam being the point guard, there is definitely some accountability as far as getting us off to a good start,"" Wisconsin assistant coach Howard Moore said. ""With his position, there are definitely a lot of guys looking at him to get us going initially, to get us off to good start and make sure we're organized.""
Perhaps Wisconsin's opponents have realized the same thing. With Tucker and Taylor forming a dangerous one-two scoring punch for the Badgers, it appears some teams feel that stopping Taylor is the most effective way to beat the Badgers. As Moore put it, Tucker is such a ""matchup nightmare"" that perhaps some teams accept the fact that they won't be able to stop him, and instead try to limit Taylor's damage.
""It's hard to say what another coach is thinking,"" Moore said. ""Just looking at the games we've played, people are really trying to take him out and attack Kam a little bit. People have tried to run and jump at Kam, and do some trapping things, and try to rush him in his decision making. I would guess that some people say, ‘let's take the lesser of two evils and try to go at Taylor a little bit more than Tucker.'""
Some teams also may have elected to pressure the Badgers' point guard early this season because they felt they would be able to pressure Taylor into turnovers. However, after committing 81 turnovers with just 71 assists last season, Taylor has made great strides in that regard this season.
Through seven games, Taylor has dished out 12 assists with 13 turnovers, though six of those turnovers came in the games against Delaware State and Missouri State. In the team's other five games, Taylor has shown good progress in his decision making, turning the ball over just 1.4 times per game.
""With Kam, I think it's just a matter of relaxing and playing the game, but being focused on what we're trying to do offensively,"" Moore said. ""Decision making is huge with his position. If you don't have a guard that can make good decisions, you're in trouble, and for the most part, he's done that. It's a good challenge for him, and I think he'll step up and take care of it.""
No matter how hard opponents try to disrupt Taylor, however, there is one thing they won't be able to take away from the Badgers' point guard: his leadership. Early in the season, Taylor has drawn praise for the increased leadership role he has taken, something that the coaching staff loves to see from its point guard.
""He's done a good job, and I think it comes from being in the program for a few years,"" Moore said, adding that Taylor has been especially helpful in tutoring the teams younger guards like Jason Bohannon, Trevon Hughes and Mickey Perry.
Taylor agreed that he has stepped up his leadership role this season. He said some of it has emerged naturally, but he also has made a concerted effort to be a leader and a mentor.
""In certain situations, you have to remind yourself that the team is going to need you,"" Taylor said. ""When the game is close, they're going to need you to make the right decision.""
