May 26, 2010

By  Curtis J. Phillips

Fort McMurray CONNECT

 The driving distance between Fort McMurray, Alberta and Benton Harbor, Michigan is approximately 2,407 kilometres.

For Cole Taylor it might as well be a million miles.

Taylor, 25, a recent recruit of the Keyano College Huskies men’s basketball program comes from a world where “I thought the world ended and started on my doorstep.”

There are few rags-to-riches stories in Benton Harbor where about 40% of the families live below the poverty line and 92% of the populace are African-American.

“Basketball (and football, where he was an all-star wide receiver) was my rescue,” said Cole, who along with his younger brother were raised by their mother in a single-parent family. “I’d say 50 to 55 per cent of (his male peers) went down the wrong road.”

Cole, a 5-foot-10 guard who averaged 16 points per game for the Lakeshore High School Lancers, recalls the first time that his mother told him to “fight back and stick up for himself.” He was only 12 years-old.

“This guy wanted something from us and my mother said we had to prove to them that what we had was ours and that no one was going to take it from us...my mom worked hard to put us in nice clothes and shoes. It was a pretty serious fight I had with the guy for 15 to 20 minutes.”

Taylor managed to follow the right path, spending countless hours on the gridiron and hardwood but admits that the environment was not the safest at times.

“I remember in Grade 5...I will never forget it. We were 0-8 the year before in Grade 4 and now we were 8-0 and playing a junior high for the championship. It was the second quarter and gunshots go off in the gymnasium and everyone was ducking. You could be anywhere at any moment and stuff can happen but you have to suck it up and keep going.”

Due to his stocky size in junior high, Taylor says he was a “mini Charles Barkley” but his growth spurt stopped upon entering senior high. He now had to relearn how to play in the backcourt position.

As a kid he was a fan of a Phoenix Suns team which featured Barkley, smooth-as-silk guard Kevin Johnson and power house Dan Majerle, a 6-foot-6 leaper nicknamed “Thunder Dan” for his thunderous dunks.

 “I’m from Michigan and so I had to hate the Chicago Bulls (lead by Michael Jordan.),” says Taylor, followed by a slight smile.

Post-secondary academics and basketball had to be placed on the backburner as Taylor, at age 19, became a father with the birth of his son Mariano.

 “It was tough...I was a fairly young father and didn’t really know what I was doing. It was trial and error. For a few years I had odd end jobs...factory, mowing lawns, officiating basketball.”

It was also during this time that Taylor “wanted to give back” to his community and started an Amateur Athletic Union club for local youth.

In 2007 he returned to his basketball roots with a scholarship to South East Community College which participated in the Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference and Region IX of the National Junior College’s Athletic Association. 

A two-minute highlight reel of his 2007-2008 play with the Storm feature a player who has an all-around game with a consistent shot from within 16-feet range and a deadly off hand dribble.

Taylor now turns his sights to play basketball in Canada.

“My coach was trying to find me the right school to come to in Canada but at the time we didn’t have the right fit.  He told me to stay in shape and believe in him and to wait until we found the right situation.”

Keyano College and Fort McMurray appear to be the perfect fit for Taylor.

“I talked to (Keyano men’s basketball) Coach Mike Connolly and he echoes what my coach stood for,” said Taylor. ”I feel good to be part of a program that will be playing its first year (in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference 2010-2011).

”It feels good to be part of history and I want to help get us into the playoffs.”

Of what he believes is the main difference between Canadian basketball and ball south of the border Taylor said: “It is not as physical here.  In the States if you are at the YMCA and playing your grandfather and he is beating you, he will start trash talking and then tell all of his buddies and you will have to live that down.”

By attending Keyano College, Taylor wants to encourage family and others.

“It will show my son that no matter what obstacles or barriers you have to overcome in life, you still have to have a dream and keep it in your heart and keep going. I have a dream (graduating with a degree) and when I get that, I can show my son so when he is 18 he can have that dream and perhaps get it quicker than I did.

“I also want to get into coaching to show kids that they can use it as a tool to get an education and to change their lives.”