FORMER CLARION HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT COACHING IN GERMANY

This story originally appeared in the Dec. 30 edition of the DuBois Courier-Express/Tri-County Sunday

TAYLOR HAS FOND MEMORIES OF CLARION & DISTRICT 9

By Chris Rossetti

CHEMNITZ, GERMANY -- Growing up a lot of young people dream about being involved in professional sports, but for most that is all it is, a dream.

The dream, however, has become a reality for former Clarion High School (CHS) sports standout and Clarion University (CU) graduate assistant men's basketball coach Mike Taylor.

Taylor, who graduated from CHS in 1990 and then earned his master's degree from CU in 1997, is the head coach of the BV Chemnitz 99ers who play in the "Regionaliga Sud" (Regional league south), a professional league in Germany.

"I grew up dreaming about professional sports," Taylor said. "I am a big sports guy. But my goal has been to develop into the best basketball coach I can be. If that takes me to the professional level or college level only time will tell. My focus for a number of years has been the college level, but I am really enjoying pro basketball in Europe. My dream is to be the best basketball coach Mike Taylor can be and the rest will take care of itself."

Right now being the best coach he can be for Taylor means coaching a team in the third division of German professional basketball.

"It is good basketball," Taylor said. "The Bundesliga (National League) is the first division. It is very close to the NBA level, definitely big time in Europe. Below the Bundesliga is the Second Bundesliga, which is also a national league but is the second division. Our league is a Regionliga (Regional). There are 12 teams in our league, and we play each team two times (home and away). Games are on Saturday or Sunday each week. Mixed into our league schedule are 'Cup' games. For example the Saxony Cup is played for by all pro teams in Saxony (a German state in which Chemnitz is located). Games are in tournament format traveling to the lower team's home gym. The winner of the tournament qualifies for the German Cup next year."

Taylor, who spent a lot of time growing up in blue-collar western Pennsylvania, finds himself in other blue-collar area. Chemnitz is an industrial city of about 300,000 people located in the former East Germany.

According to Taylor, the town features factories that produce everything from automobiles to beer.

"We are one of the few pro teams in the old East Germany," Taylor said. "Chemnitz is a nice city with an interesting mix of the old Russian and German cultures. We are 2 1/2 hours south of Berlin and 40 kilometers from the Czech Republic border. It takes about two hours by car to get to Prague. The first language here is Deutsch (German) and the second is Russian. Many people speak English, but not as many as you would think."

BV Chemnitz is a team that mixes German, American and other European players. The team is allowed to have one American and two non-German European (Bosman) players.

"A Bosman is a European Pro and is categorized according to Bosman A or Bosman B status," Taylor said. "A Bosman A comes from the countries of Western Europe while a Bosman B comes from the old Eastern European countries."

The 99ers American player is a former PSAC-West standout, Sly McIntosh, from IUP, while the two Bosman players for the 99ers are both Bosman B players, Martin Veber from Slovakia and Daenius Pleta from Lithuania. Taylor said the level of basketball played by the 99ers is pretty good.

"Our imports are very skilled, very talented basketball players from all over the world," Taylor said. "They play at a high level. Maybe not the NBA, but somewhere above college like the CBA. Our rosters can range in age from 17 to 30, and ours does. Our younger guys have tremendous potential, but are often overmatched physically. I believe our young guards are both quality college prospects if they would want to come to the United States. Our veteran German guys are high NCAA Division II caliber in my opinion. The talent is solid, and the imports make a great impact on each team."

While a long way from Clarion, Taylor's rise to a coach at a professional level is not all that surprising to one of his high school coaches.

"Mike was always dedicated to doing what was right," Larry Wiser, who was Taylor's head football coach his senior season, said. "He is one of those kids who stands out in my memory. You really felt comfortable if he walked into a coaches' meeting. His opinion was always valuable. I was so fortunate to have him as my quarterback when I first became a head coach. He helped me to a good start. He was a good leader both on and off the court. He was a unique kid. I am very proud of where he has gotten in life."

Some might also say that Taylor was destined to coach basketball. He grew up with a basketball coach for a father. His dad, Dick, coached basketball both at the high school and collegiate level, and was the head basketball coach at Clarion University for six seasons from 1982-93 to 1987-88. He was also a volunteer coach for Clarion High School when Mike and his younger brother Scott played for the Bobcats.

"I loved the fact that my dad was a basketball coach," Taylor said. "Basketball is a special thing to us. He was an excellent coach and has tremendous experience and knowledge that has helped me. We talk all the time about different situations, and I value his advice. He has helped me understand about basketball, the art of coaching itself and sports psychology. Anyone who has taken his classes at Clarion University knows how unique he is. Basketball is a special bond we share. I value that greatly."

Taylor was in fifth grade when his dad got the head-coaching job at Clarion University, and he took advantage of the fact his dad was the coach to soak up as much basketball as he could.

"I was a ball boy for him at Clarion," Taylor said. "I use to sit at the end of the bench and eat popcorn. Sometimes I would go on road trips with the team. I loved it."

Taylor's journey to Germany was an interesting one that took him through three school districts growing up ending with Clarion where he was a star basketball and football player for the Bobcats, two colleges and three coaching jobs.

After graduating from CHS in 1990, he decided to go to Florida Southern to play baseball. But after a year in Florida, Taylor decided he wanted to be a basketball coach and in order to be a basketball coach he realized he needed to get some playing experience.

Because of his want for experience he transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he became a three-time captain for the Indians while helping IUP reach two NCAA Division II "Elite Eights".

After graduating from IUP in 1995, Taylor returned to Clarion as a graduate assistant coach under current CU head basketball coach Dr. Ron Righter. Earning his master's at CU, he returned to IUP as an assistant basketball coach under Gary Edwards from 1997-2000 and then spent a year as an assistant coach at Pittsburg State (Kansas) under Gene Iba.

It was all of Taylor's travels as a player and coach that led to his job in Chemnitz.

"I first became aware of the job when my friend Aaron Christian, now an assistant at Portland State, told me it was available," Taylor said. "His friend Coly Matney was the coach here last year but left because he missed his family and friends. They (Chemnitz) talked with Aaron (about the job), but he knew he was getting the Portland State job and he and his wife are from Portland. When Chemnitz asked me if I would be interested I jumped at the chance. My experience with Planet Basketball was a big help in getting hired, and they were impressed with my resume and experience. It has been a perfect fit and without question I made the right move!"
Taylor said one of the main reasons he took the job in Chemnitz was because of the opportunity it presented for him to be a head coach and the doors that it would open.

"As an assistant coach at Pittsburg State I was looking toward my future," Taylor said. "The best training to be a head coach is to actually do the job and make decisions. I had worked my way up the college coaching ladder and gained experience at Clarion as a GA, at IUP as an assistant and at Pittsburg State at a top assistant. I learned a lot from the coaches I worked for. It came to a point when the opportunity to coach in Germany was available, and I could not pass it up. It was too great. I knew becoming a pro coach in Europe would open doors from my basketball network to go worldwide. Taking the job also opened doors to the pro level that were unavailable before. Most importantly I would get the head coaching experience that would push me to the next step in my development. It really was an easy decision once I examined all the benefits."

Friends, family and anyone else interested can follow Taylor and BV Chemnitz on-line at www.taylorhoops.com.