Taylor, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound combination guard, averaged 5.7 points and 1.9 assists per game as a true freshman last season for the Eagles, who finished at 15-14.
“I just didn't like how it was this year,” Taylor said of his reasons for leaving one Big Sky Conference school for another. “I don't want to go into too much detail. I was just looking for something different.”
Taylor must pay his way to Montana next season, but will receive a scholarship the following year.
“I'm the oldest of six kids and they're going to start graduating every couple of years,” said Taylor, who was selected by the Seattle Times as Washington's 1A player of the year as a senior at Brewster. “I didn't want my parents to have to deal with too much.”
Taylor said he received an offer to walk on at Gonzaga, where he could also play baseball.
“That was a great offer by them,” Taylor said. “It was pretty hard to decide what I wanted to do, but I wanted to make my own decision and go with my gut, and I did.”
Montana coach Wayne Tinkle, who can't comment on Taylor until he is enrolled in school, recruited Taylor out of high school.
“I really liked him,” Taylor said. “When I went to Missoula this year, I liked the assistant coaches, the guys on the team are great and they have a good team chemistry that I'd like to be part of.”
Taylor describes himself as a natural point guard, but said he adjusted while playing alongside phenom Rodney Stuckey last season.
“This year I got to work at catching and shooting,” said Taylor, who shot 40 percent from 3-point range for the Eagles. “I don't mind swinging over to the off guard. I just want to help the team try to win.”
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