JANUARY 2010: It was the shot heard around the Big 12, especially Missouri, and stunned Kansas last season. With 1.3 seconds remaining, Zaire Taylor hit a jump shot as Missouri defeated Kansas 62-60.

Missouri fans swarmed the floor after Taylor’s game-winner.

“It was a big shot with the rivalry between Kansas and Missouri,” Taylor said. “When you hit a shot like that, you’re going to be remembered for a while. I feel like that is huge. This helps me. There’s a lot of people that know nothing about me other than that shot..”

Taylor said the shot was not designed for him to take the shot, but for guard J.T. Tiller to make the best decision on taking a shot or finding an opening man. The Jayhawk guarding Taylor went over to help out with Tiller dribbling free for the basket.

“He had to close the lane or J.T. would have gotten himself a lay up,” Taylor said.
“I was in position to get an open three knowing he had to close out. I stepped in and knocked the shot down. I feel like J.T. being in that position, handling the ball and trusting another teammate, is harder than taking the actual shot.

“Every player here today would want to take the last shot To trust another guy on that team is often harder than taking the shot.”

Taylor and Tiller are back this season and hoping for another storybook Missouri ending when they play January 25 at Kansas, which will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Jayhawks visit Mizzou Arena on March 6 for the Big 12 regular season finale.

Missouri won the Big 12 tournament title last March, beating Baylor 73-60 in the championship game. They defeated Cornell, Marquette and Memphis in the NCAA tournament before losing 82-72 to Connecticut in the Elite Eight, one victory shy of Missouri advancing to its first Final Four appearance.

“I felt like it was a game we should have won,” Taylor said. “We were more than capable of
winning. The better team won that day. You’re wishing in you head you could do it again. But you’ve got to think, I’m sure Memphis feels the same way about us. And Cornell and everybody else we played.

“It hurts. It took me awhile to even feel somewhat good about even making it to the Elite Eight. To be honest with you, I was the main guy who said if I ever make it to the Elite Eight, I know I would win a national championship because there’s no way to make it that far (and not win it all). It is easier said than done. I wouldn’t even say it was bittersweet. Some people would use that word, but I wouldn’t. It just hurt..”

Missouri set a school record with 31 victories last season.

“Last year was a great season, it was amazing,” Taylor said. “It was unbelievable. I won’t say unbelievable cause you actually believe the whole season you are capable of doing that. For that to actually come true it just feels good. It makes you feel like your hard work has paid off. Practices with coach (Mike) Anderson are tedious, hard and strenuous. They are rough practices, but you have fun. You can see the development come along during the season.”

After transferring from Delaware, Taylor was named to the 2008-09, all Big 12
rookie team.

Taylor said this season could be even better than last year, although the Tigers lost DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons, their two leading scorers and rebounders.
“In college basketball, it is four years and move on,” Taylor said. “If you made
it to Sweet 16, chances are you lost an impact player.”

Taylor, a 6-4 senior, can play both guard positions as well as small forward.

“I feel like I’m versatile more than anything,” Taylor said. “To an extent, I feel like I can guard most anybody. That I can make it hard for anybody to score. I think defense is a key to my game. Being a bigger guard, I feel like I can rebound. I can score as good as just about anybody. I really could care less about that kind of stuff, like how much I could score.

“I think the first game of the (2008-09) season I didn’t take a shot. There are games I’ve been in control when I didn’t shoot the ball. I’d play 30-something minutes and didn’t take a shot. There are games likes Oklahoma State, Texas and Georgia, where I feel like the team needed me to shoot the ball. It is just more or less being able to accept any role and understanding there will be a different role every game.”

After transferring from Delaware, Taylor was named to the 2008-09, all Big 12 rookie team. When he decided to leave Delaware, several universities contacted him and he planned on making a couple of visits, but that changed after his first trip was to Columbia.

“The second I came to Missouri and met coach Anderson, my mind was made up that is the where I need to be,” Taylor said. “Coach Anderson had made an impact and impression on my life. It shows the man he is. He’s a great father, a great husband, a great coach. He teaches you to be a man as much as a basketball player. Being a man is way more important than being a basketball player because I’m going to have to be a man the rest of my life. He’s never said anything that is not true to me. A coach can say a lot of things when you transfer. When you transfer, you can’t go to another school unless you want to go D-II. So you have to have a lot of trust.”