Beating out teammate Lin Guan-luen, Kinmen Kaoliang forward Taylor King landed this week’s SBL Player of the Week honor, his second of the season.
The former Duke and Villanova University standout played professional ball in Canada prior to joining the Distillers two weeks into the season after a brief stint with the Dacin Tigers did not work out. Since then he has established himself as the league’s premier scorer, despite some early criticism regarding his shot selection, and ability to distribute the ball and fit into Kinmen’s offensive scheme.
His league-leading 24.2 points-per-game and 14.9 rebounds-per-game averages not only make him one of the toughest players to defend against, but also one of the most consistent, whose performance can dictate the outcome of the game for the Distillers.
“We really worked harder than usual before last week’s three-game sequence and it showed that our efforts paid off,” King said after learning of his selection to the weekly honor.
His 32 points and 16.3 rebounds per game were the main reason that Kinmen were able to defeat the Taiwan Mobile Cloud Leopards and the Dacin Tigers in a pair of upset victories.
“We hope to get out of the cellar for good in the remaining 10 games,” King explained when asked by reporters about his team’s prospects.
“[King] has really put in the effort to help us win and he is willing to carry out the directives of the coaching staff,” Kinmen head coach Luo Tien-jin said of his top scorer.
King and his teammates face a pair of tough outings this weekend, beginning with tonight’s showdown against his former team, the Tigers, followed by tomorrow’s duel with the resurgent Yulon Luxgens.
Both opponents are contending for a playoff spot and will undoubtedly take the games against Kinmen seriously, even though the Distillers are the underdogs.
National Taiwan University of Physical Education and Sport Gymnasium in Taichung is hosting this weekend’s games, with the top-ranked Pure Youth Construction facing Bank of Taiwan at 8pm tonight after Kinmen’s showdown with the Tigers at 6pm.
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