NCAA record holder returns to western Wisconsin alma mater to coach boys basketball
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. — On Nov. 12, 2012, in a game against Faith Baptist Bible College, Jack Taylor connected with nearly every shot he took for Grinnell College, and he took a lot of them. In that game, Taylor went on to score 138 points, which was an NCAA record high that hasn't been broken since.
"The last couple minutes in the game, I noticed in the bleachers people were holding out their phones, and it turned out to be just a media frenzy after that," said Taylor, who made appearances on several national media programs including a live interview on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" talk show.
The dust eventually settled, and Taylor returned to his hometown of Black River Falls, Wisconsin (approximately two hours east of the Twin Cities) to raise his family alongside his wife, and took with him life-changing experiences from the record-breaking moment.
"It's helped me post-basketball career continue to believe that if I work hard and do things the right way that I can continue to do great things," said Taylor.
Now at 34, he's returning to the court, coaching kids on the high school team he once played for.
"I started to just get that itch to want to come back to the game of basketball," said Taylor.
Players welcomed the coaching changeup and the tone he sets with the team.
"Seeing someone come from your hometown and do really, really well, and hold a record in basketball is really cool," said Will Sedelbauer, a senior on the Black River Falls boys basketball team. "He doesn't focus on the wrongs, more what we do right, and the energy this year has been more than anything we've ever had."
"I didn't get much minutes last year, and with the new coach I'm like, maybe something will come to me, get a little bit of confidence," said Cecil Lopez, a senior on the team.
This year's team is point guard heavy, so having a coach who knows how to shoot is especially helpful for these players.
"He has us getting up a lot of shots," said Lopez.
Despite a slow start to the season, Taylor says he values team culture over anything else.
"In us losing our first three games and still being in high spirits, still being competitive, still believing in each other, playing together, is a really good sign that so far we've developed a pretty nice culture here," said Taylor.
