Jeff Taylor down to three

The Hobbs Eagles recently captured another state title with a 73-71 thrilling win over rival Clovis. Senior forward Jeff Taylor came up huge as he has done so many times, scoring 31 points and making a number of key plays late in the game to push Hobbs over the top. With the season now behind Taylor, his focus has now shifted to recruiting. On Monday, the 6-foot-7 wing/forward cut his list to three schools and announced that he will not take a fifth and final official visit. Did the Longhorns make the cut?

"I'll probably be making a decision in the next couple of weeks," Taylor said. "I don't think that I'll be taking another official visit."

The news that Taylor would not a take a fifth official visit is a surprise with programs such as Arizona, Marquette, UCLA and Kentucky all making a push to get the talented forward on their campus.

Taylor previously took official visits to Gonzaga, UNLV, Texas and Vanderbilt and was also as considering offers from Texas Tech and Nebraska, among others. With the decision not to take a final visit, Taylor has cut his list down to three schools from which he will make his decision.

"It will probably come down to Texas, Vanderbilt and Gonzaga. Probably, I want to be close to my family. I have a lot of family around here (Hobbs) and in Texas. My decision will come down to feeling comfortable with the coaches and players at the schools," Taylor said.

Taylor recently led the Hobbs Eagles to the New Mexico 5A state championship with a 31 point, 14 rebound, six block, five assist and four steal performance against rival Clovis. Hobbs won 73-71 with behind a trio of key plays late from the 6-7 wing.

"It's a great feeling to win state. It's just something that you dream about. We beat Clovis for the title. They (Clovis) had been talking a lot of mess in the papers all week," Taylor said.

The big time state title game performance wrapped up an impressive three-game run in the state tournament for the talented wing prospect.

"In the state tournament, I had 26 in the first game, 31 in the semi-final and 31 in final." Taylor said.

All told, Taylor averaged 29.3 points, 12 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 4.3 blocks and 3.3 steals in the three-game tournament.

Taylor's season totals for the Eagles were 28.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game.