Taylor Rochestie: Best Point Guard in the NBA Draft (or at least the second round)

The truest of any point guard available Taylor Rochestie should be drafted on Thursday. Just ask Bob Smith, the dim coach of UCSB who didn't offer the Santa Barbara HS all-star guard a scholarship. Ooops. He is a closer, has averaged more minutes than almost anyone else out there, makes FT's, has a great outside shot, plays lock down defense (even when undersized) and can hit the shots down the stretch. He's accomplished all of the below while playing with Washington State which runs the slowest offense on the planet and compared to the rest of the Pac-10 had extremely limited "talent". Put him on in the NBA with pro ballers that can cut, catch and shoot and you're looking at a great choice for any NBA team looking for a great pick in the second round. He's played on the same level or better than Darren Collison, Gabe Pruit, Jrue Holiday, OJ Mayo, Jarryd Bayless, Jeremy Pargo, Russel Westbrook, Daniel Hackett, etc. The object here isn't to propose that Rochestie is better than these guys just that he deserves a shot or at least a mention because he can play at their level.

Washington State ● Senior ● Guard ● 6-1 ● 193 ● 7/1/85

Highlights: Ranks on WSU all-time list in free throw percentage (first – .835), 3-point field goal percentage (fifth – .401), assists average (sixth – 3.74), assists (sixth – 381), 3-point field goals made (10th – 132), 3-point field goal attempts (12th – 329) and minutes played (17th – 3,009)

2008-09 (RS Senior): Started all 33 of WSU’s games…became the fourth Cougar in the last decade to earn First Team All-Pacific-10 Conference honors…led Cougars in points (13.2 ppg), minutes (36.8 mpg), assists (150), and steals (31)…ranked second on the team in free throw percentage (.891)…led the team in scoring 11 times, assists 25 times and steals nine times …had 19 double-figure scoring games, three 20-plus point games, including two 30-plus point games (the only two of his career)…recorded the first and only double-double of his WSU career with 17 points and 10 assists against Sacramento State (Nov. 21)…set career highs in both free throws made and attempted going 16-for-16, while recording 30 points and seven assists at Oregon (Jan.17)…tied WSU single-game free throw percentage record going 16-for-16 from the line against the Ducks…was instrumental in the Cougars’ upset victory at No. 20 UCLA, scoring a career-high 33 points shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 5-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc (Feb. 22)…logged a season high 45 minutes, making the game-winning three-point shot against No. 14 Arizona State on ‘Senior Day’ (Feb. 28)… named U.S. Bank Pacific-10 Player of the Week (Feb. 16-22)…set Cougar single season record in free throw percentage (.891), ranks second in minutes played (1215), sixth in assists (150), and 10th in assist average (4.55 per apg)…ranks on WSU’s senior single season list in minutes (first - 1,215), free throw percentage (first - .891), assists (second - 150), assist average (fourth - 4.55 apg), 3-point field goals (T-seventh - 61), three-point attempts (seventh - 161), and three-point field goal percentage (ninth - .379) …became the second Cougar in as many years to be named Pacific-10 Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year…named to the Pacific-10 All-Academic First Team for second-consecutive season…earned ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA District VIII All-Academic First Team accolades…Portsmouth Invitational participant…WSU Big Ten Senior award recipient.

2007-08 (RS Junior): Appeared in all 35 of WSU’s games, including 34 starts…led WSU, the Pac-10 and ranked 10th in the nation with a 2.81 assists/turnover ratio (165 assists to 56 turnovers)…led WSU, was second in the Pac-10 and ranked 69th nationally in assists (4.71 per game)…first on team and fourth in Pac-10 in 3-point percentage (.434)… played most minutes of any player in the Pac-10…scored in double figures 17 times…dished out four or more assists in 28 games…had 12 points, seven assists and seven rebounds against Boise State (Nov. 13)…scored 22 points including 9-for-10 from the free throw line against Air Force (Nov. 25)…scored career-high 24 points against Oregon State (Feb. 14)… dished out a WSU-high 10 assists in first round of NCAA tournament against Winthrop (March 20)… followed with seven assists in WSU’s second round victory over Notre Dame (March 22)…set Cougar single-season record with 1,223 minutes played, had the second-best single season assists mark (165), ranks sixth in assists average (4.71) and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage (.434)… earned Pacific-10 All-Academic First Team honors.

2006-07 (RS Sophomore): Appeared in all 34 games, including six starts…ranked third on the team in assists (66, 1.9 apg)…led the team in scoring twice…finished season with 1.9 assist/turnover ratio…scored first points as a Cougar against Radford (Nov. 12), finishing with nine…added nine points in an upset of then-No.18 Gonzaga (Dec. 5)…dished out a season-high six assists at Idaho, Dec. 9…also recorded nine points in a 75-47 win over Washington (Jan. 20) including a three in the first half to help spark a 15-3 Cougar run…first double-digit game at WSU came at Washington (Feb. 14) with 16 points behind 6-for-9 shooting from the field…came on strong late in the season, scoring 11 or more points in four of the Cougars’ final five games…went 5-for-9 from the field to register season-high 21 points vs. USC (March 3)… scored in double figures in both Pac-10 Tournament games…led all scorers with 20 points in 74-64 win over Washington (March 8)…recorded 11 points in 70-61 loss to USC (March 9)…tallied 15 points, five rebounds and four assists in 70-54 NCAA Tournament First Round victory over Oral Roberts (March 15).

2005-06 (Sophomore): Transferred to WSU in Jan. 2006 and sat out spring semester per NCAA rules.

2004-05 (Freshman; Tulane University): Named to the 2005 Conference USA All-Freshman Team…ranked second on team in steals (35)…was second on the team and 11th in C-USA in assists (103, 3.69 apg)…recorded 15 double-figure scoring games…played 28 or more minutes in 15 of 16 C-USA games…scored a season-high (then-career high) 22 points in a comeback win over VMI (Dec. 31)…recorded the lone double-double of his career with 14 points (all in the second half) and a career high 10 rebounds against No. 22 Cincinnati (March 2).

AROC's Bracket for March Madness 2008-2009

Pac 10 Player of the Week (Jan. 15/17, 2009): Taylor Rochestie

In a great weekend of Pac 10 hoops I must give out my pick for the Pac 10 POTW, Taylor Rochestie.

Taylor led the Cougs to back to back road wins agains Oregon State University (in Overtime) and Oregon in his last visit to "Mack" Court. In these two games Rochestie tallied 44 points and 15 assists (both weekend high's for the Pac) while playing a pac 10 high 84 minutes of solid point guard play. He tied a WSU single game record for free-throws going 16 for 16 from the stripe against Oregon and reached a career milestone while in Corvallis where he eclipsed the 1,000 point mark. Surely his performance should be rewarded with the Player of the Week honor. So, if there is any justice in the world, the powers that be will AT LEAST honor him with an honorable mention for Player of the Week.

The only other player that is worth mentioning would be

USC's Dwight Lewis who led the Trojans to two wins over the Arizona teams. He did have 39 points and 6 assists (along with 5 turnovers in his 73 minutes of play) and Arizona/Arizona St. are definitely tougher teams than those Rochestie and WSU encountered, even at home in the Galen Center. So I won't be suprised if USC/Lewis gets the nod this on Monday but hope that the honor goes to Rochestie.

Going by straight statistics nobody had a better week than Rochestie. Going past the box-score, for those of us who know anything about WSU's style of play, 44 points is a huge number for anyone playing for Tony Bennet & Co.

In both games Rochestie was THE difference maker in the outcome vs. Oregon hitting big three's and every free throw needed in the second half. Against OSU, Rochestie made a three pointer and found Daven Harmeling for another trey, giving WSU it's last 6 points in regulation. He had 8 assists in the overtime win against the Beavers and hit his 1,000th point as an NCAA player. All of this while being targeted by opposing coaches as the primary player to "shut down." While the Cougs have other options (Thompson, Baynes, etc.) Rochestie was indespensible while the same is not likely true of Lewis who had plenty of help from the likes of Gibson, Hackett, DeRozan, etc.

Hopefully the news on Monday is reasonable but considering the fact that WSU hasn't had a Player of the Week since... it's been a while. Did I miss anything? Wanna plead the case for Lewis or someone else? Go for it.