Dante Taylor got off to a slow start this season, but that was just the beginning. When he was forced to sit out for two games with migranes, Khem Birch stepped up and it looked like Taylor could be confined to a bench role.
But funny things can happen. Birch hasn't seized hold of the job like many of us hoped he would. Instead, coming off the bench, Taylor's thrived. Over the past two games, he's been Pitt's best big man and has played some of the best basketball in his career at Pitt. In contests against Duquesne and Tennessee, Taylor has put together 23 points and 16 rebounds, hitting more than 70% of his shots along the way.
So the question is, what does Dixon do now?
While it's nice that Taylor's had a couple of good games, I'd stick with Birch for now. Taylor has had plenty of opportunities over his career, and while I'm not writing him off by any means, I think you've got to give Birch more time to develop. The more he's out there, the more comfortable he'll get.I would have been fine with giving Taylor his job back after he sat out those two games, but the last thing Dixon can afford to do is continue flip-flopping the two back and forth. If Taylor continues outplaying Birch for another three or four games, I might look at it, but for now, things are going well the way they are. Taylor played nearly 30 minutes against Duquesne and at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter who starts. If both guys play well and get minutes, I've got no problem with the situation.