| Tayshaun Prince |
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 | Hometown:
Compton, Calif.
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| High School:
Dominguez
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| Height / Weight:
6-9 / 215
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| Position:
Forward
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| Birthdate:
02/28/1980
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| Experience:
4L
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Vote for Tayshaun for the Senior CLASS Award
General
Kentucky’s first returning All-American since Kenny Walker in 1985-86... Reigning SEC Player of the Year will push for National Player of the Year honors... Entered 2001 NBA Draft but withdrew prior to Chicago Pre-Draft Camp... Is a mismatch for most power forwards and can play all five positions... Must continue to get stronger and improve use of his right hand... Has 1,215 career points which ranks 31st at UK... Ranks 10th in career three-pointers made (139) and fourth in attempts (430)… Could move into the school’s all-time top 10 in scoring and rebounding while finishing in the top five in blocked shots… Named a team co-captain.
2000-01
Named second-team All-American by the AP and the USBWA and made the 10-member Wooden All-America team, the 38th Wildcat to receive All-America honors... Swept AP and Coaches SEC Player of the Year honors... Made first-team All-SEC in both polls... Named UK’s co-MVP and received team awards for Leadership, Best FT Shooter, Best Rebounder and Most Improved... Started every game, playing primarily power forward... Was second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.9 ppg, which ranked fourth in the SEC... Earned SEC Tournament MVP honors after recording double-doubles in the semifinal and title games... Against Arkansas, had 19 points and 10 boards while hitting 10-for-12 from the free-throw line... In the title game vs. Ole Miss, had 26 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while tying the record for threes made in a league tourney championship game with six... Averaged 19.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg in the three tournament games... Dominated the Cats’ first two NCAA Tourney games, scoring 27 against Holy Cross and a career-high 31 vs. Iowa... Against the Hawkeyes, also had a career-high seven assists and matched his career-high with six three-point shots made... In the loss to Southern Cal, held to six points, snapping a streak of 29 straight games in double figures... During the tournament, averaged 21.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 5.0 apg and shot 53.8% FG, 56.3% from 3FG range and 92.9% from the foul line... Shot a team-high 84.3% from the line, which led the SEC... Ranked among the league leaders in shooting (49.5% - 5th) and rebounding (6.5 rpg - 15th)... Recorded six double-doubles to give him seven in his career... Against Tennessee (2/14), became the 48th member of UK’s prestigious 1,000-point club and currently ranks 31st with 1,215 points... Versus SEC competition, finished second in the league in scoring by one point, averaging 17.8 ppg, first in FT shooting (90.0%), fourth in FG shooting (52.0%) and ninth in three-point shooting (38.0%)... Game saver against Florida: canned a left-handed baby hook from 12 feet over Brent Wright to give UK a 71-70 win; finished with 19 points and six rebounds... Named SEC Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Feb. 19 and named National Player of the Week by Basketballnews.com... Scored 30 points at Tennessee while foul trouble limited him to 28 minutes... His scoring outburst was highlighted by a 6-of-7 shooting performance from three-point range... Followed up with 27 points vs. Vanderbilt (2/17) including 16 of the Cats’ last 23 points... Hit a career-high 11-of-12 free throws in the five-point win... Named SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 5 for the second time in his career after he scored 29 points vs. South Carolina (2/3/01), hitting 12 of 15 from the field including all five three-pointers... Totaled 23 points, 10 boards, three blocks and three steals at Georgia (1/31/01)... For the week, averaged 26.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 2.0 bpg... Tremendous defensive effort vs. Notre Dame All-American Troy Murphy, holding the 6-11 forward 10 points below his average on 40% shooting... Murphy finished with 14 points while Prince tallied 19 points, eight boards, two assists and two Murphy blocks in 34 minutes... Other clutch performances: played all 40 minutes at Louisville, canning two free throws with 26 seconds left to win the game; against South Carolina, his jumper in the lane broke a 61-61 tie with two minutes to play.
1999-00
A second-team All-SEC pick by the Coaches… Started all but one game as a sophomore and scored in double figures 23 times, playing in every game but one… Finished first on the team and 12th in the SEC in scoring (13.3 ppg) and second at UK in rebounding (6.0 rpg) to earn the team’s Most Outstanding Player Award… Turned it up down the stretch, scoring in double figures in the last five games while hitting 17 of his last 20 free throws… Scored a career-high 28 points in the double-OT win over St. Bonaventure in the NCAA Tournament, including a clutch three-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation to tie the game… Was outstanding the final week of the regular season, totaling 35 points and 12 rebounds in wins over Miss. State and Florida… Had eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds vs. Arkansas on Feb. 26, his second double-figure rebounding effort this season… In the first game against Tennessee, broke from a four-game, 30.2% shooting slump by hitting 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range to pour in 17 points, 14 in the second half… Canned clutch shots in three straight games: Against Miami, his runner in the lane gave UK a 58-57 lead with 23 seconds remaining… Big down the stretch at Georgia (1/26/00), scoring 10 of his 14 points in the last seven minutes and finishing with a game-high four steals… In the second meeting with Vandy, hit a double-pump, game-clinching three-pointer with 27 seconds remaining in OT and UK leading by two… Named SEC Player of the Week Jan. 10 after leading UK to wins over Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt… Drained a personal-best five threes vs. Vandy (1/8/00) to tally 17 points, becoming only the second opponent to score above his average against the VU defense… Three days earlier, recorded his first double-double — 21 points and 10 rebounds vs. Ga. Tech… Terrific line vs. Michigan State: 17 points, five rebounds, one block in 37 minutes, and his defensive pressure on the final shot attempt secured the win for UK… Made his first start at power forward against U of L, shooting 61.5 percent from the field to finish with 20 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots in the 30-point win… Made the Preseason NIT’s All-Tourney team after tallying 21 points and nine rebounds against Maryland and 18 points and five boards against Arizona... Helped the USA Young Men’s National Team earn a silver medal in July 2000 in Brazil.
1998-99
Played in every game with 11 starts as a freshman… Averaged 20.2 minutes and 5.8 points per game, the team’s sixth-leading scorer… Captured the team’s “Freshman Leadership Award” after the season… In the Midwest Region final, hit all three of his field goals, including both three-pointers, and all four of his free throws to finish with 12 points vs. Michigan State... It was his seventh double-figure performance of the season, the first in postseason play, and he was named the Chevrolet Most Valuable Player… Terrific performance in the SEC tourney title game with seven points, eight boards, six assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes against the Razorbacks... Averaged 6.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg in the SEC tourney… Had 10 points vs. Georgia (2/17/99) and hit all six of his free throws… Finished with 13 points and six boards in a season-high 33 minutes vs. second-ranked Maryland… Totaled 15 points, five boards, three blocks and two steals vs. Colorado in the Puerto Rico Shootout… In the consolation game against hometown school UCLA, hit three three-pointers and finished with 11 points and six rebounds… Earned his first collegiate start against Wright State.
High School
The 1998 McDonald’s All-American led Dominguez to a 96-9 (91.4%) record during his three seasons, including a state championship during his junior year of 1997… Averaged 22.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.0 bpg and 5.2 apg as a senior, leading the Dons to a 32-3 mark… As a junior, averaged 20.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 5.0 assists and 5.0 bpg in carrying the squad to a 30-4 record… Following his sophomore season, he was named all-state and MVP of his conference… Finished his career as a finalist for the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and was voted a second-team Parade All-American… Won the George Yardley Award from the L.A. Times as the best player in Southern California, joining former winners Baron Davis, Paul Pierce, and Charles O’Bannon… He was voted a member of USA Today’s preseason Super 25 squad, picked as the No. 6 high school frontcourt player by Dick Vitale’s College Basketball Yearbook, a second-team selection to Street & Smith’s 1998 All-America Team, listed as one of CNN/SI’s preseason top-five players in the nation and tabbed as Athlon’s No. 16 prep off-guard in ’98… Graduated with a 3.3 GPA and was on the school’s honor roll for three years… Coached at Dominguez by Russell Otis… Chose the Wildcats over Kansas, Georgetown and UCLA.
Smith on Prince
“I think Tayshaun Prince is the best player in the country.”
Cat Scratches
Full Name: Tayshaun Durell Prince
Nickname: “Tay”
Birth Date: Feb. 28, 1980
Place of Birth: Compton, Calif.
Parents: Thomas and Diane Prince
Siblings: Tisha, Tommie
Major: Sociology
High School Coach: Russell Otis
High School Mascot: Dons
Statistics
Year G-S Min.-Avg. FG-A Pct. 3FG-A Pct. FT-A Pct. Reb.-Avg. PF-D AT TO BS St TP-Avg.
98-99 37-11 747-20.2 82-198 .414 29-101 .287 21-32 .656 142-3.8 34-0 45 38 21 25 214-5.8
99-00 32-32 1087-34.0 153-362 .423 46-150 .307 74-105 .705 192-6.0 54-1 58 64 41 27 426-13.3
00-01 34-34 1117-32.9 207-418 .495 64-179 .358 97-115 .843 221-6.5 56-0 99 58 37 24 575-16.9
Totals 103-77 2951-28.7 442-978 .452 139-430 .323 192-252 .762 555-5.4 144-1 202 160 99 76 1215-11.8
Prince's Career Highs
Opponent Date
Points 31 Iowa 3/17/01
FG Made 12 South Carolina 2/3/01
FG Atts 19 Ga. Tech 1/5/00
3FG Made 6 Three times
3FG Atts 9 Three times
FT Made 11 Vanderbilt 2/17/01
FT Atts 12 Twice
Rebounds 12 Ole Miss 3/11/01
Assists 7 Iowa 3/17/01
Turnovers 5 Twice
Blocks 5 Louisville 12/18/99
Steals 4 Twice
Minutes 48 St. Bonaventure 3/16/00
