Experienced college stars get their chance to prove themselves
Last night, the Bucks drafted Bogoljub Markovič and signed Mark Sears to a two-way contract. Since then, the team has added two players to join Markovič and Sears in Vegas for Summer League action. Terrence Edwards Jr. from Louisville signed a Summer League deal late last night, per John Chepkevich of DraftExpress.net, and Wade Taylor IV of Texas A&M signed a deal this evening, the school announced.
Edwards just wrapped up a productive five-season collegiate career at Louisville after spending his first four years at James Madison. The 6’6” wing averaged 16.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.7 APG in his lone season at Louisville. The skill that will best translate for Edwards is his ability to get downhill. As a driver, he puts a lot of pressure on the rim, using pump fakes and a quick first step to create separation. Around the hoop, he has an effective floater, crafty footwork, and the ability to finish with both hands. During the 2022–23 season with James Madison, he shot 45.8% from three, but this past season, when he had significantly more attempts, he shot just 33%. To allow himself to get downhill where he thrives, he will need to show consistency from long range at the next level. Defensively, Edwards is serviceable on the ball, but did not create many turnovers, averaging less than one steal in three of his five college seasons. Creating chaos on the defensive end is something Edwards could do to improve his stock, but not what he hangs his hat on.
Taylor played four college seasons, all with Texas A&M. In his senior season, the 6-foot guard averaged 15.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 4.3 APG. A backcourt pairing of Taylor and Sears in the Summer League should be extremely entertaining for Bucks fans. Taylor is a microwave scorer who shot more threes than twos per game in each of his collegiate seasons. Efficiency was often a struggle for Taylor , who shot 36.6% from the field in his career and 32.3% from three. However, some of the efficiency struggles can be attributed to often being Texas A&M’s lone form of shot creation. Being surrounded by more offensive talent in Summer League should help Taylor get some easier looks and score more efficiently. He will need to shoot the ball extremely well to overcome his size to have a chance in the NBA, but anyone who has watched him play knows he could have a scoring explosion any given night.
The Bucks will spend the coming weeks finding players to fill out the Summer League roster, but for now, Edwards and Taylor have their opportunity to show they belong in the NBA, and should be an exciting duo to help Bucks fans get through the offseason.