Marshall University Athletics
BOGACZYK: Taylor Wants to Lead Herd to Fast Progress
10/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Consider this Marshall basketball five for a minute ââ'¬Â¦ Hal Greer, Charlie Slack, George Stone, Russell Lee and J.R. VanHoose. A pretty good starting group, wouldn't you say?
Now, consider Herd forward Ryan Taylor. If the junior from Indianapolis has approximately the same numbers in 2015-16 that he put up last season, he'll join that quintet as the only players in MU annals with 1,300 points and 700 rebounds.
To get there, Taylor needs 453 points and 201 rebounds ââ'¬Â¦ and Taylor would still have a season to go in a Herd uniform.
Yet, those numbers aren't what the 6-foot-6 Taylor is about. After playing for Marshall teams that have finished 11-22 and 11-21 - Tom Herrion's last year on the sidelines in Dan D'Antoni's first - what Taylor would enjoy most is a higher figure on the left side of that W-L ledger.
In D'Antoni's Year 2, Taylor sees promise.
"I really don't set many numbers or goals that I want," said Taylor, who posted team-leading averages of 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds as a sophomore. "I just want to go out and compete every day and be better than last year as a team and as a player.
"I'd like to average like a triple-double -- but that's kind of hard. Have fewer fouls. But other than that, just trying to do everything on the stat sheet - blocks, steals, assists as well as points, rebounds. The biggest thing is ââ'¬Â¦ I'm just trying to win games. I'm tired of losing."
Taylor, the Herd's Preseason All-Conference USA selection and an all-league third team pick after last season, is also looking for some stability. This season will be the first time since 2008-09 and '09-10 that he played for the same coach in consecutive seasons.
Back then, it was Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Jack Keefer at Lawrence North. Taylor was a sophomore and junior those years, and in the latter he was an All-State first team pick. As a senior he moved to Louisville, Ky., and played for his coaching uncle, Paul Handley, at Eastern High.
Then it was off the prep school at Hargrave Military Academy, where he played for former Herd point guard A.W. Hamilton. Taylor sat out 2012-13 to retain eligibility, then played for Herrion as a redshirt freshman and D'Antoni last season.
"It was different," Taylor said of D'Antoni's self-named "Organized Chaos" offense that spreads the floor, encourages quick, quality shots and is created from pressure defense. "Once we got used to it, you saw the results (seven wins in a 10-game, five-week stretch in late January and February).
"Do I feel like I'm starting over again with all of the new (faces on the roster)? A little bit, but not that much, because all the kids we have, the incoming freshmen, the transfers, they know the game of basketball, so it's not that hard to explain everything to them. It's a little bit because of all the new faces, but not that much."
Taylor was asked the lead the Herd as a "point forward" last season. D'Antoni knew the most effective way to sell his system would be to get the best player not only to buy in, but get others to do so as well. Taylor has grown as a "salesman" because of added maturity, but he said the acceptance of the style of play is better than last season when everyone was a neophyte in spread it, swing it, shoot it.
"This team, we've come together earlier in the season than we did," Taylor said. "This team has been more focused. We still have times when we forget something, but for the most part, we understand what to do. We have a tougher early schedule, but what it's about is bringing the excitement back to Marshall basketball for everybody.
"For me, I just want to play better than I did last year, want to do more for the team, teach the young kids the offense, be a vocal leader on and off the court. Coach D'Antoni told me last year I needed to be a leader. It wasn't natural for me, but it's easier for me now."
Marshall has enjoyed winning seasons in only four of the last 14 winters, but the hope for Herd improvement - Marshall was picked to finish ninth in 14-team C-USA by league coaches - is rooted in more than added depth and a grasp of D'Antoni's system.
Taylor and wing guard Austin Loop will have more help on the offensive end of the floor, and so they will have less defensive attention, giving Taylor the chance to slash in more space.
"On the court, I can pretty much do anything Coach Dan wants me to do," Taylor said. "Off the court, it's more for me of watching tape, breaking down plays for the younger class guys, helping them see every option of the offense and defense. That's pretty much it. I understand the system. I need to help others understand it.
"I think one difference (from last season) is we're not going to let one play hurt us. We're not going to get down on ourselves if we get down in a game a lot or if we lose as many games early as we did last year. Everybody ââ'¬Â¦ just the camaraderie of the team is just different. Everybody is excited and bought-in. I think when we play, and we make big plays, our bench will be up-and-down, excited, getting the crowd into it.
"The games we won late last season carries over a lot. It helps us understand that Coach D'Antoni knows what he's talking about. We know the system will work against any team and anybody. It's just getting everybody to buy into it, and after that, we'll be fine. I feel like those games we won will help us a lot."
It's likely that by the flip of the calendar to the new year - around the time Marshall visits No. 3 Maryland - that Taylor will become the Herd's 50th career 1,000-point scorer. By then, the Herd will have played four of its first six games on the road, faced rival West Virginia, played defending Mountain West champ Wyoming in Las Vegas and gone against the Terps.
"I'm excited about the schedule," Taylor said. "Coach D'Antoni wants to play the best and be one of the best. With this schedule, we can go out and show a lot of people and lot of teams that we can compete with anybody in the nation.
"WVU is going to be good. I saw they were No. 23 (in the coaches' poll). Maryland is No. 3. We're going to Tennessee (in the Nov. 19 season opener) to compete against Rick Barnes, who has coached in the Final Four (2003 at Texas), and against a big-time SEC team.
"It's going to make it fun this year. I'm anxious to see how much progress we've made."
