HUNTINGTON - Pardon me for these disorganized thoughts, for I can't get Jethro Tull's "Bungle in the Jungle" out of my head.
n With James Kelly running roughshod over the opposition, Ryan Taylor isn't "the man" for Marshall basketball anymore. Right?
Wrong. Taylor, who has a team-high 77 career starts, is still very much the face of the program. And that will be the case even if Kelly dunks his way to the All-Conference USA first team - or better.
Road games and tougher opponents lie ahead, but it seems that only injury or persistent foul trouble can keep Kelly out of the league's top five players.
Perusing the updated stats Sunday morning, I found Kelly a point per game out of the scoring lead, with his 18.9 points just behind the 19.9 of Rice's Marcus Evans. Kelly leads in rebounding (10.0) and field goals made (124).
He also is ninth in field-goal percentage (.544), 10th in steals (21) and fifth in free-throw shooting (.811). You read that correct: Fouling him does no good.
You could say Kelly is overshadowing Taylor, but I beg to differ. I wouldn't say Taylor is adjusting his game, either. He knows he has more weapons around him, and knows how to involve them within the framework of coach Dan D'Antoni's lively system.
Taylor's career-high eight assists in the Herd's 99-81 win over Florida International shows as much. And it's just as telling who scored off those passes.
He fed six 3-pointers, several on inside-out passes. He kicked the ball out to Kelly on two long shots to begin the first half and started the second half with two passes to the suddenly hot Jon Elmore. On the first of Elmore's three quick 3-pointers, Taylor pulled down the offensive rebound and then kicked out.
Two assists came in transition, and a third pass to Kelly resulted in a layup - and a three-point play. He fed Stevie Browning once inside and once outside, and his final assist went to C.J. Burks for a 3.
And Taylor didn't cheat himself, scoring 15 points. He was 5 of 9 from the floor and hit all four free throws.
He is rising up the C-USA assists chart with all those hot-shot point guards, averaging 3.63 assists to tie for 10th. He's even 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio with 1.35 - remember, forwards generally have more turnovers than assists.
More and more, Taylor knows exactly what to do with the ball, often well before he does it.
"The game comes a lot easier for me," he said. "I watch a lot of film. Even in the game, I just process it. I don't just focus in on one play; I feel like when I play I'm always two steps ahead.
"I feel like I've been playing good basketball here, knowing when to shoot it, knowing when to pass it, stuff like that. I've got a bunch of weapons on the court ... it makes the game a lot easier for me."
D'Antoni occasionally jokes that Taylor's performance at "point forward" makes him look like a smart coach - and not just on offense.
"He does a lot of defensive things you don't see," D'Antoni said. "His off-the-ball defense is really, really good, and he's directing. If you listen to him talk, he'll move them into place, keeps everybody where they're supposed to be."
Yes, Taylor is still the man.
n On the way home from Huntington, I listened to the Bengals-Steelers game on the Bengals' network, which means I had to put up with hyperactive homer Dave Lapham. As the Bengals took their 16-15 lead and picked off Landry Jones, WRVC-AM's signal faded and so did my interest.
Had I not checked the Powerball drawing on my phone, I would not have checked the final score before retiring. That would have made for an interesting Sunday morning, wouldn't it?
n Something else to consider when sizing up Kelly's season: He's not often in foul trouble.
He has limited himself in a few first halves by picking up two, but he has fouled out in just two games - Tennessee and West Virginia. Other than that, he hasn't picked up a fourth foul, much less No. 5.
n Adam "Pacman" Jones' Instagram oratory Saturday makes me wonder: Was he so eloquent in speech class at the state's flagship university?
n Back at MU, Austin Loop had a quiet Saturday night, hitting just 1 of 5 3-pointers and scoring eight points. Do give him credit for drawing a three-shot foul and hitting those.
His lone 3-pointer, which gave the Herd the lead for good at 3-2, was his 48th of the season and 132nd in the two seasons under D'Antoni. Which brings me to this question: Would that 132 be the number of minutes he would have played under the previous coaching regime?
n Before taking my overnight snooze, I was regaled by Deion Sanders on the NFL Network defending the cheap shot by Cincinnati's Vontaze Burfict to Antonio Brown's head.
That had me wondering, "What makes Deion an expert on hits? Did he actually hit anybody in his playing days?"
n God bless Bengals fans. They need it more than Browns fans.