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Hutchinson Community College

ROJAS HEADS TO ALABAMA, TAYLOR TO CLEVELAND STATE

Rheaquone Taylor (left) and James Rojas (right) will play this coming season at Cleveland State and the University of Alabama.
Rheaquone Taylor (left) and James Rojas (right) will play this coming season at Cleveland State and the University of Alabama.
July 17, 2019

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Hutchinson Community College men's basketball all-conference/region players James Rojas and Rheaquone Taylor will both be at Division I programs next season.

Rojas will head to the Southeastern Conference to play at the University of Alabama, while Taylor will go the mid-major route and play at Cleveland State.

Both Rojas and Taylor were mainstays on Hutchinson's 26-8 Region VI Tournament runner-up team. The duo teamed up for 55 wins and one NJCAA Tournament appearance.

A 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward from Jamestown, New York, Rojas named a 2019 NJCAA All-American, the 2019 Jayhawk West Player of the Year as well as first-team all-Jayhawk West and first-team All-Region VI and all-Region VI Tournament. Rojas is the fourth Blue Dragon to earn NABC All-America honors.

The Blue Dragon forward missed five games in January, but returned and carried the Blue Dragons all the way on a seventh-straight Region VI Tournament championship game. In the 14 games after returning from injury, Rojas averaged 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He shot 51.6 percent overall and 48.6 percent from 3-point range and 81.0 percent over that span of games. Rojas was also second on the Blue Dragons in assists over that span with 39 assists and led the team with 22 teams.

Rojas scored a career-high 30 points in a Region VI Tournament victory over No. 3 Coffeyville on March 4. He had a 28-point game against NOC-Enid on November 6. Rojas finished the season with 15 games of 20 points or more. Rojas finished the season with two double-doubles.

Rojas concluded his career as Hutchinson's 25th all-time leading scorer with 905 points. His 292 career free throws are eighth most and his 77.0 percent career mark from the free-throw line ties for the eighth best in program history.

Taylor is a 6-8, 215-pound forward from Jamaica, New York. He was the 2019 Blue Dragons' third-leading scorer at 10.8 points and led the Dragons at 6.8 rebounds per game. Taylor shot 50.8 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the foul line.

Taylor was a first-team All-Jayhawk West performer this past season. He had a career-best 26 points on November 18, 2017 against Pratt. He reached a career-high of 14 rebounds in a game twice.

Rojas is the first Blue Dragon to sign at Alabama since the mid-1990s when Demetrius Alexander signed with the Crimson Tide. Taylor is the first Blue Dragon to sign at Cleveland State since Modibo Niakate signed with that program after the 2001 season.