BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — It was the look on his face. His smile. It was the chest thump. His joy.
It was one moment frozen in time for former Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, who's notorious for balking at isolating and talking about such things, "I have never tried to think of relationships as one moment with players because you pretty much see them a couple of hundred days a year.''
This was different. This was a moment for the ages. A Hall of fame moment for Jordan Taylor.
"I just remember looking at him from 10 to 15 feet away and saying, 'Now, that's real joy,''' said Ryan, revisiting the highlight from Taylor's junior season. "He was so excited. He couldn't hold it back any longer when he started pounding his chest with that smile – with that million-dollar smile.
"He wasn't pumping his chest to say, 'Hey, look at me.' He was pumping his chest because he was so dog-gone happy – he knew what kind of 'W' that was going to be for us, what kind of win. He was just plain thrilled. He was just genuinely excitement. I'll never forget that look on his face.
"When it's done like that,'' said the conservative, old school Ryan, "I embrace it. Genuine joy.''
There was much to be joyful about on February 12, 2011 at the Kohl Center. Not that anybody saw it coming after No. 1 ranked Ohio State, the only unbeaten team left in Division 1 basketball (24-0), raced off to a 47-32 lead over Wisconsin with 13 minutes and 59 seconds to play in the second half.
"They made a run,'' Taylor rationalized, "and we knew we had a run in us.''
Taylor was the catalyst, the chief decisionmaker. In less than two minutes, he scored eight points (on a runner and two triples) and it triggered a 15-0 run that tied the game with 9:47 remaining. The Buckeyes would retake the lead, only to have the unflappable Taylor spark yet another run.
"They had to play damned near perfect to get us,'' said OSU coach Thad Matta. "And they did.''
Over the final 13 minutes, Taylor made six of seven field goal attempts, including four of five shots from the 3-point arc. During that critical stretch, he also had four assists and just one turnover. (Ball security was part of his legacy.). Taylor had 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half.
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"I'd like to be able to explain that,'' Ryan later said of Taylor's dominance. "But it's hard, even for me, and I see him every day. Good decision after good decision … he read whether or not he was open, whether there was separation on the ones he scored and then the ones he assisted on.''
In the end, the Badgers held on for a 71-67 win – their first over a No. 1 ranked opponent since a 1962 home upset of Ohio State. The students stormed the Kohl Center floor and carried Taylor off on their shoulders. Before getting the ride, he would pound his chest in front of Ryan. Genuine joy.
In the media room afterwards, Taylor was asked about the adrenaline rush. He compared it to storming the turf, himself, at Camp Randall Stadium after the Badgers upset No. 1 Ohio State in 2010. And he cited the court-storming in December of that year at the Kohl Center after beating No. 6 Duke.
This moment was different. "It was something we will remember forever,'' Taylor said.
Something like being inducted into the
Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 2022.
"It's special,'' said the 32-year-old Taylor, "to see a culmination of hard work be rewarded.''
How special was Taylor as a point guard? His career assist-to-turnover ratio is still a school record 3.01 (464-154) bettering Mike Kelley (2.57; 344-124) and Josh Gasser (2.25; 284-126). As a junior, Taylor led the nation (3.83; 161-42) which is second best for a single season behind Kelley (4.30; 86-20).
Upon leaving Wisconsin, he was the NCAA career record holder.
"One thing that jumped out about him from the beginning was his hands were so big,'' said
Greg Gard, then a Ryan assistant. "Usually, guys with very big hands are very solid with the ball. From day one, you could tell he had a calmness or a presence – a soundness with the ball in his hands.''
It was not by chance or coincidence that he tailored, so to speak, his game in that fashion.
"In high school, I played in an up-tempo system, and it (ball security) was not a point of emphasis,'' said Taylor who led Benilde-St. Margaret's to the 2008 Minnesota Class 3A state title and was named Mr. Basketball. He averaged 22 points and finished as the school's all-time leading scorer.
Once he got to Wisconsin, he quickly realized, "In the Swing offense, there's not as many possessions. So, taking care of the ball is pivotal to getting on the court. Coach Ryan always stressed that. I figured that was one thing I could do, and it kind of stuck with me throughout.''
Here's the rub about the AST/TO ratio. Taylor disliked being stereo-typed by that stat alone. There were so many other things that he worked on to shape his all-around game. Strengths that may have gotten overlooked while protecting the rock. "It really used to bother me,'' Taylor admitted.
But obviously, he learned to live with his role. Not only did he excel in it, but he expanded it.
"He was a winner – the consummate point guard and teammate,'' said Wisconsin associate head coach
Joe Krabbenhoft, a Badger senior when Taylor was a freshman. "I was only able to play with him for one year. I wish I got a few more. He was a lot of fun to play with.
"And he wasn't afraid of the big moment – to take the big shot, get a stop, make the right decision. He was a teammate's dream and now that I'm on the other side, I can tell why coach Ryan and the whole staff loves him as their point guard because he's a coach's dream.''
Here's another testimonial, this one from ESPN's Jay Williams, who said of Taylor in 2011, "JT is the most efficient player in the college game. His strong frame, deep shooting touch and off-the-charts IQ make him the most dangerous player on this level when involved in screen-and-roll action.''
Notice there was no mention of assist-to-turnover ratio because he did so much more to impact an outcome. Today, he's still a Top 10 scorer at Wisconsin. With 1,215 career points, he's No. 9 all-time, sandwiched between Trent Jackson and Mike Wilkinson. He now joins them in the UW Hall of Fame.
"Well-earned honor," Krabbenhoft said. "Great ambassador for the university and program.''
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Since graduating from the Wisconsin business school, Taylor has hooped professionally around the world. Last season, he played for Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese B League. The year before last, he was on a team in Sapporo. Previously, he competed in Italy, Israel, Germany, Turkey and France.
"I've learned that I'm pretty adaptable,'' Taylor said. "It's not easy playing overseas all the time. There are positives to it, of course. Like I said, I learned how to adapt, and I have a pretty high level of perseverance. To be still playing after eight surgeries in 10 years, I think is pretty special.''
Reflecting on the fact that he never toiled in the NBA, he said, "I had a lot of injuries. I got injured going into my senior year and had ankle surgery. Then I had hip surgery the next year. It wasn't necessarily about my game. It was more about staying on the floor and staying healthy.''
Taylor believes that he has a couple of more years left in his battle-worn body to hoop. The Big Ten Network has expressed some interest. And he would like to explore that analyst possibility. Plus, he has teamed with Anthony Goods, a former Stanford guard, on the "Role Player'' podcast.
Goods, the co-founder of Swish Cultures, a sports media company, has a comparable bio to Taylor's in that he has played in nine countries over 10 years. Together, they can discuss many facets of the game. Here and abroad. Taylor is certainly well-versed on the benefits of playing a role to its fullest.
"Everybody is a role player at some point or fills a role – whether you're a star player or not, it's still a role,'' he said. "My first year (at UW), I was just trying to get on the court. And I feel like I grew into one of the better players to come through the school, mainly trying to be a leader at all times.''
Hit rewind. As a Badger freshman, Taylor came off the bench and averaged 13 minutes of playing time over 33 games. He averaged 1.6 points, shot 26% from the field and made just 5 of 26 shots from beyond the arc. He had 38 assists and 17 turnovers. The coaching staff saw his upside, though.
"We do enough drills and film every practice and chart every stat and there was no question we could see that he had the personality to be a leader,'' Ryan remembered. "He had the work ethic and he was out to prove something. He was out to prove to people he could play. I love those kinds of guys.'''
During the recruiting process, Taylor had primarily mid-major scholarship offers.
"Jordan came down here several times on unofficial visits (five all-together before verbally committing) and he kept asking, 'What do I have to do to get here?''' Gard recalled. "He asked me that a half-dozen times. I would always have a list of things that I wanted to see him improve on. And he did.''
Added Ryan, "Some people said that he was too small. There were people who talked about things that he couldn't do. I've always been the kind of coach that wanted to talk about the things that people can do and try to accentuate those things.
"I just remember how wide-eyed, anxious and thankful he was for us bringing him in for a visit and recruiting him the way we did. He was just genuine. And if you want somebody running your team for three or four years, take a guy like that. You'll tend to be successful with those kinds of guys.''
Taylor raised his scoring average from 1.6 to 10 to 18.1 in just three seasons. The turning point was his sophomore year. After failing to make a shot against Michigan, the following game he scored 18 of the UW's final 24 points to erase a 16-point second half deficit in an overtime win against Penn State.
"From that point forward, it really started to click for me mentally and physically,'' said Taylor whose career high was 39 points at Indiana as a junior. "I learned how to play off my teammates. Mainly, I figured out how to score and take care of the ball and I combined those two things.''
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Gallery: (7-8-2022) UW Athletic Hall of Fame: Jordan Taylor
It's a learning experience that he can share with others. Like Wisconsin's
Chucky Hepburn.
"I love Chucky – he's got a real bright future,'' Taylor said of Hepburn, who started all 33 games last season as a true freshman. "It was fun to watch coach Gard tweak the offense and let the athleticism of
Johnny Davis show out. Obviously, Chucky is not the same athlete as Johnny is.
"But I think Chucky is athletic to the point where playing a little more up-tempo next season will let that athleticism come through. That's the natural progression of this program. He's the next in line to take over and you can see that he wants that to happen.
"Even with Johnny, you could see that Chucky wanted to be that guy. Not in a jealous way.
"But he was ready to take the reins and make the big shots.''
This past weekend, Taylor and Hepburn were teammates in a charity softball game pitting basketball alums versus football alums. If the opportunity presented itself, they may have talked about the desired makeup for a successful point guard. Taylor surely can speak volumes on that subject.
"One is communication,'' Taylor said. "Along with toughness to be cliché from a basketball standpoint. Then, there's just the ability to make shots, make plays. Especially when you need to. For us, sometimes, it was when the shot clock was running down.
"Nowadays, you also have to be able to guard multiple positions. You have to have a great feel for when to assert yourself and score and when to find guys and get them the ball. It's definitely a balance – a balancing act – that the best ones have mastered.''
Taylor is proof of that. Genuine proof.
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