Wendy Haun
RICHMOND — It’s been 63 games, but senior Josh Taylor’s most memorable moment as a Colonel is still one that happened as a freshman.
Taylor’s clutch shot with 2.9 seconds in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game in 2007 ranks far and above anything else he has done at Eastern Kentucky University thus far.
“There’s no doubt, the most memorable has to be playing in the NCAA tournament and hitting the shot my freshman year in the OVC tournament championship,” Taylor said. “I don’t think anything can beat that. Maybe beating Pitt.”
The senior from Pittsburgh, Pa., will have a chance to play at home on Thursday, when the Colonels (1-0) will face Pittsburgh in the first round of the CBE Classic.
While it will be his first game playing in his home state, it certainly won’t be the first time his parents have seen him play. They have made the six-hour drive to McBrayer Arena for most of the Colonels’ home games, and have gone to a fair share of the away games as well.
“In the last three years, I think they’ve made almost every home game and a couple of away games,” he said. “This year, they’re going to try to make every game. I’ve been really lucky to have my family there for me every game.”
When he was contemplating where to go to college, the EKU coaching staff made quite the impression on him. They also came through on a promise they made him — that they would get him a game in his hometown.
“We made a conscious effort to make this happen,” EKU coach Jeff Neubauer said. “Josh Taylor has been a great teammate here for his guys and we agreed to play in this event with the understanding that we would play at Pitt. It certainly is great for him to get to go to his home city and play Pitt.”
The 6-foot-6 forward set career highs in the final game last season against Morehead State in points (26), field goals (10), three-pointers (six) and minutes (30). He finished in double-figures in scoring in 18 out of last season’s 31 games.
“First of all, Josh Taylor is a very experienced leader for us,” Neubauer said. “He’s been in the program for four years, has been a great teammate for four years. He certainly is a very good shooter, a good passer and has turned out to be a good player overall.”
One thing Neubauer credits for the improvements he’s made was playing against former Colonel Mike Brock, who was a senior when Taylor was a freshman and played on the last NCAA Tournament team.
“Just thinking back to his freshman year when he was going up against Mike Brock every day, he certainly improved his defense,” Neubauer said. “Now, Josh Taylor is the senior, teaching those younger kids some lessons. Josh has certainly improved his interior scoring, as a passer, defensively and he’s shooting the ball better than he ever has.”
Currently, the general studies major is considering either getting his Masters degree or following former Colonels such as Mike Rose, Michael Haney and Darnell Dialls and play professionally overseas.
“I’ll just have to see how the season goes and what I can do but I’d like to do that like some of the past guys have,” Taylor said. “I know Mike Rose went through it last year, but I’ll just have to wait until the season ends to see how it goes.”
