TOLEDO, Ohio — Forward Steve Taylor, Jr. will be one of 64 college basketball seniors competing in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament to be held on Wednesday-Saturday, April 12-15 in Portsmouth, Va. Taylor's selection marks the fourth-straight year that a Rocket is participating in the event. Rian Pearson, Julius Brown and Nathan Boothe each received invitations following the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns, respectively. Only Iona (six straight years), Georgetown (four) and Virginia (four) have sent players to the P.I.T. in each of the last four years.
 
     The Portsmouth Invitational is in its 65th year and is a four-day, 12-game tournament, in front of representatives from every NBA organization and numerous international leagues. Notable MVPs include Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls (2011) and DeMarre Carroll of the Toronto Raptors (2009) with former participants including Rick Barry, Dave Cowens, Tim Hardaway, John Lucas, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and John Stockton.
 
      Taylor will play his first game on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. for Sales Systems, Ltd. and is one of three  representatives from the Mid-American Conference. He will be playing with UCLA guard Bryce Alford, California guard Jabari Bird, Duke guard Matt Jones, Louisville center Mangok Mathiang, Louisiana Tech forward Erik McCree, Grand Canyon guard DeWayne Russell and Kentucky forward Derek Willis.
 
     Taylor, a Chicago, Ill. native, earned second-team All-MAC accolades after ranking second on the team with 15.3 ppg and third nationally with 12.2 rpg. He also topped the nation with 9.9 defensive rpg, ranked ninth in the MAC with 3.7 apg and tied for third in the country with a MAC-best 23 double-doubles. Taylor grabbed a Savage-Arena record 23 boards on two occasions vs. Youngstown State (Nov. 15) and Western Michigan (Feb. 21) and tallied a career-high 27 points, 10 boards and four assists at Marshall (Dec. 10).
 
     For more information regarding the event, fans can visit portsmouthinvitational.com. The website contains player information, hotel information, previous records/players and more information about the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
 
Mission of the P.I.T.
The P.I.T. has always claimed to be "more than a basketball tournament".  Each year the P.I.T. contributes back to the community by awarding five $4,000 scholarships to student athletes from Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.  In addition to the scholarships, approximately $11,500 from the tournament proceeds is presented to local non-profit organizations and charities to help them make a difference in the local community, creating a grand total of over $31,500 given back the community each year.  The contributions and scholarships have risen significantly over the years thanks to the support of local sponsors, advertisers, ticket sales, the City of Portsmouth and the NBA.  Of course, the more than 100 volunteers involved in producing the tournament have a special place in the success of this wonderful event each year.  Together they all make this "more than a basketball tournament".