Taylor Rochestie is a 30 year old 185cm guard from Santa Barbara, California playing his seventh professional season and first with Maccabi Fox Tel-Aviv (Israel-Winner League). He played at Tulane(NCAA) and then finished at Washington St. (NCAA) and as a senior played 33 games averaging 13.2ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.5apg, FGP: 39.2%, 3Pts: 37.9%, FT: 89.1%. He started his professional basketball career in 2009 with MEG Goettingen (Germany-1.Bundesliga) playing EuroChallenge: 16 games: 14.7ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.7apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 38.9%, FT: 79.6%; German League: 38 games: Score-3(15.1ppg), 2.8rpg, 3.2apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 50.2%, 3PT: 39.5%, FT: 84.1%. In the 2010-2011 season he played for Galatasaray Cafecrown Istanbul (Turkey-TBL): Turkish League: 16 games: 7.9ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.1apg, FGP: 42.3%, 3PT: 40.5%, FT: 84.2%; EuroCup: 11 games: 6.0ppg, 3.2rpg, 2.5apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 38.3%, 3PT: 38.9%, FT: 81.8%, left in Feb.’11, later that month moved to ALBA Berlin (Germany-1.Bundesliga) playing 27 games: 8.7ppg, 2.7rpg, 3.9apg, FGP: 46.0%, 3PT: 38.1%, FT: 76.6%. In the 2011-2012 season he played for Le Mans Sarthe Basket (France-ProA) playing EuroCup: 8 games: 12.5ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.4apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 82.4%; French League: 37 games: 16.3ppg, 3.4rpg, Assists-2(6.4apg), FGP: 56.4%, 3PT: 42.8%, FT: 89.3%. In the 2012-2013 season he played for Caja Laboral Vitoria (Spain-ACB): Euroleague: 4 games: 1.5ppg, 1.0spg; Spanish ACB: 7 games: 6.1ppg, 2.6apg, 2FGP: 52.9%, 3FGP: 54.5%, in Jan.’13 moved to Angelico Biella (Italy-SerieA) playing 16 games: 13.4ppg, 2.1rpg, 2.6apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 57.0%, 3PT: 27.9%, FT-3(92.1%).In the 2013-2014 season he played for Montepaschi Siena (Italy-SerieA): Euroleague: 10 games: 6.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 1.7apg, 2FGP: 41.0%, 3FGP: 39.1%, FT: 85.7%; Italian SerieA: 13 games: 7.1ppg, 1.6rpg, 3.0apg, 2FGP: 56.9%, 3FGP: 22.2%, FT: 94.1%, in Jan.’14 moved to BC Nizhny Novgorod (Russia-VTB): 17 games: 14.9ppg, 2.6rpg, 3.9apg, FGP: 40.9%, 3PT: 47.4%, FT: 88.7%; Eurocup: 12 games: 14.3ppg, 1.5rpg, 4.8apg, FGP: 51.3%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 89.7%. Last season he played for BC Nizhny Novgorod (Russia-VTB): 31 games: 14.7ppg, 3.2rpg, 5.3apg, FGP: 54.3%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 89.9%; Euroleague: 21 games: Score-1(18.9ppg), 1.6rpg, 5.7apg, FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT-3(92.5%). He spoke to German Hoops before the Euroleague clash in Bamberg against the Brose Baskets Bamberg.
Taylor thanks for talking to German Hoops. You are back in Bamberg playing Euroleague. What memories do you have of games against this top team when you played with BG Goettingen and Alba Berlin? I guess you wont forget the finals loss to Bamberg in 2011 so easily?
My first year in Germany is when Bamberg started to win titles. I remember how tough it was to play at their gym, and over the years it didn’t get easier. Always well coached with players that play hard, Bamberg is a tough place for any team to come in and get a win, with a large credit due to their amazing fans.
Both Bamberg and Maccabi Tel Aviv are 1-2 and this is a big game for both teams to stay in the group hunt and not slip further back. Do you believe that this game will be won on the defensive end?
Most tough games are won with big stops defensively and also the ability to score big baskets when it counts. Momentum plays a big role as well and being able to control the pace of the game, especially on the road in a great environment.