Liberty will welcome several newcomers to its 2024-25 men’s basketball team. We will breakdown the addition of each one, beginning today with a look at Arkansas Tech transfer guard Taelon Peter.
Taelon Peter is a 6’4 guard/wing transfer coming in from Arkansas Tech, where he averaged 18.5 points, 2.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds this past season while shooting 49.9% from the field and 40.1% from three.
He was named as GAC Player of The Year while leading his team to a 25-7 record which tied for first in the conference. Peter shot very efficiently despite playing a good amount on the perimeter and shouldering much of the offensive load for his team when he was on the floor. While leading his team in scoring and steals, he was also second in assists and rebounds.
Taelon has a lightning quick release and made a habit of shooting right over defenders instantly upon receiving the ball on the perimeter. He has the type of shot that often doesn’t even touch the rim and just perfectly finds the center of the hoop. He really is a tough shot maker, draining contested threes on hard closeouts and even off the dribble at an efficient level. He hit 41.2% of catch and shoot threes last season and 36.4% on dribble jumper threes.
Peter showed his ability to score coming off of screens and in dribble handoffs across different positions. His offensive production along with his lack of isolation/dribble dribble possessions make me believe he can continue this level of play at the next level. He also shot very few jumpers in the mid range area, an area of play that shouldn’t be an issue for finding a role in the Liberty offense.
Peter has exciting athleticism to pair alongside his shooting skills. He regularly turned 50/50 loose balls into fast break dunks with his breakaway speed and vertical leaping ability. His savviness on backdoor cuts resulted in easy shots at the rim that he finished with ferocity. He was able to rack up steals with his burst and length which produced good numbers in transition. Taelon finished 65.8% of his shots at the rim (1.32 point per shot) which was in the 85th percentile comparatively to his peers.
Along with his dunks, he showed he could finish against contact with touch and change of pace. He did not take to floaters or runners very much, likely due to his physical attack style against the defenders he was going up against.
Much of Taelon’s offense this past year was created on spot up opportunities and within the system of Arkansas Tech. He had very little run as the ball handler in half-court actions and so I envision that trend would continue at Liberty in terms of role within the offense. It should be noted though that he is fighting through a hand/wrist injury suffered this spring.
I could see him spending his time playing off of a more ball dominant guard and complementing those skills with his off-ball movement, shooting, and cutting. His versatility as an athletic perimeter defender could fill in some of what was lost in the transfer of Joseph Venzant.
Coach McKay continues to add high level shooters to rain threes on opponents and Peters is the latest addition to the arsenal. I am interested to see how Kaden Metheny and Taelon will play off of each other with their aligned skill set of shot creation in the back court. Overall, I think Taelon Peter adds an electric skillset to the guard/wing rotation that will help him be able to play immediately for the Flames.
