When your high school coach is Dawn Karpell and your AAU coach is Mary Beth Chambers you’re pretty lucky. But where your insanely coachable and then talented to boot. Your coaches are pretty lucky to as well. BROOKLYN TAYLOR plays for the Chambers U17 Shoreshots and they’re very lucky to have her, in fact blessed to have her. Soon a Division one school is going to lucky to have discovered her. That just may happen this weekend. That’s because Brooklyn Taylor as strange it way sound to those who know girls basketball in the shore is under valued and under appreciated. You might be asking how is that possible?
BROOKLYN TAYLOR shows up everyday at the Hoop Group and shoots for 90 minutes. She smiles, puts head down and goes to work. It’s clear she has the SJV work ethic. She goes all out in her shooting drills. She runs from drill to drill. She is positive with her peers. It’s clear she has been coached up. When I watch her I wonder how did she get to where she is today? I wonder how she is not a household name to coaches? But then again when you think long and hard it all kind of makes sense. Brooklyn Taylor is one of the true victims of the COVID Era. She has been fighting an uphill battle regardless if she knows it or not ever since Covid hit.
Now college coaches may not know that Brooklyn Taylor was one of the best entering freshman in the Shore 4 years ago. They may have long forgotten that as a freshman at RANNEY she scored 153 points in just 18 games. She was tracking as a possible freshman of the year candidate. See that is all forgotten these days. There was no fans or media around to watch her do her thing. Then when she left Ranney to play for powerhouse SJV the #4 team in the country. She had to sit 30 days. Basically she lost her sophomore year in terms of exposure. It’s been an uphill battle ever since. She has been a role player behind 5 D1 guards including the likes of Madison St Rose and Zoe Brooks. But it’s all coming back together for Brooklyn again. This past season she helped lead SJV to another SCT CHIP. Stats don’t mean much at SJV, CHIPS do. Brooklyn played her role this year. She gave Coach Karpell, the ball handling and trust all great teams need to be successful. She was a very important piece to the puzzle. These days Brooklyn Taylor is looking like a big piece of the puzzle. That because these days, Brooklyn Taylor looks like a dominant guard. These days she is playing with a swag and game that has to catch coaches eyes… these are FACTS!
Brooklyn Taylor has strong powerful body. The type that college coaches look for these days. She is sneaky quick and athletic. But it’s her craftiness and IQ that really jumps off the page. When she gets an opponent on her hip it’s goodnight Gracie. Her decision making and judgement is just different. She simply doesn’t turn the ball over and knows where the ball should go. Watching her set up teammates and understand when to score herself is refreshing to see these days. It’s nice to see point guards that know when to pass and when to shoot. Her soft sweet feathery jumper is a thing of beauty. It’s why I believe Brooklyn Taylor will be the classic combo guard at the D1 level. She is a true dog on defense. She understands on ball DEFENSE and team DEFENSE. These are the things that so many have forgotten about her as a player.
These days too many kids use Covid as an excuse and a punchline. Brooklyn Taylor doesn’t have time for excuses. She is too busy working and grinding. She is too busy looking her coaches in their eyes and soaking up all there knowledge. She is took busy getting back to the business of being one of the best. Reminding D1 coaches and fans of what she is capable of doing with a basketball in her hands. Real soon and it just may be this weekend it’s all going to come full circle for Brooklyn Taylor. She is going to get her flowers, reap the benefits from her sacrifices and tough times. Real soon coaches are going to see what many already know. Brooklyn Taylor has game. She may not have hype. But she has game, and folks GAME RECOGNIZES GAME … and her game looks very familiar these days!
