John Taft (2003) - Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame

John Taft

Induction:
2003
Class:
1991

Regardless of who was coaching Marshall during his basketball career – he played for three head coaches – they could count on John Taft to provide the scoring punch. By the time his Thundering Herd days were complete, the Huntsville, Ala., native had scored 2,332 points, at the time the second-most in school history. After receiving Southern Conference All-Freshman recognition in 1987-88, Taft blossomed as a sophomore by scoring 26.0 points per game, winning the first of three first team All-Southern Conference honors and was named MVP of the league tournament in Asheville, N.C., as he led the Thundering Herd to the championship game by scoring a tournament-record 109 points. The following season, he was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year, a feat he repeated as a senior when he averaged 27.3 points per game, the third-best season average in school history. Taft might have saved his best for last: in his final game in the Cam Henderson Center, on the night a sellout crowd watched the school retire his No. 22 jersey, Taft scored a career-high 43 points to lead the Herd to a 107-103 overtime upset of No. 13 East Tennessee State. He was named the West Virginia Amateur Athlete of the Year in 1990. Taft was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.