Today I am going to deliver a message to college coaches and basketball fans. Today I am going to give you knowledge, real knowledge. Today I am going to explain to you what a complete basketball player looks like. You gonna learn something if you are willing to pay attention. RYANN TAYLOR of Holmdel high school is one of the best 2021 players in the Shore Conference and its time we start to acknowledge this… so to everyone, I say listen up.
In the world of high school and AAU basketball it very easy to overlook a talented player. Especially if that player is not full of a lot of flash and dash. In many cases if the player plays the game the right way they can get lost in the sauce. Ryann Taylor is one such player. She’s remarkably consistent and has that quiet confidence that all coaches look for and appreciate. She has a competitive nature without being attention to herself. But make no mistake she plays with a edge. She checks every box you want in a shooting guard. She is 5’10” with long arms with great feet. She is a deadly shooter who has the ability to put the ball on the floor. But what makes her special are her intangibles. Like her ability to take pride and play defense or get on the boards. She does all the little things like sprinting back on defense, something so taken for granted. I doubt anyone realizes that she never ever misses the extra pass. Line up every returning shooting guard in the shore and few have her basketball IQ. But Ryann Taylor’s biggest intangible is her ability to be the perfect teammate. Ryann Taylor is one of those kids everyone likes and roots for because she has mastered the art of unselfishness.. she has turned it into a science.
I have watched Ryann Taylor since she was in 6th grade. I have watched her grow each year. That’s always a telling tale for me. It’s a great predictor of the future. It’s why recently a college coach at a Division 3 school asked me if I thought D1 schools will recruit her. I told him yes, because of these reasons. She keeps getting better and more importantly she is doing against the best of the best. She simply is unshakable and has next level leadership skills. That’s not hype college coaches, that just a fact. She produces in real games. I’m sure there are many who will talk about 13 points and 9 rebounds and 2 dimes vs RBC in the biggest win in years for Holmdel. But for those paying attention, she did it against all the best teams all year. You need to know she had 11 points and 5 rebounds vs. the #5 team in the state Saddle Day River. She had 22 points vs. Shore Reg in a must win game. She had 13 points vs Top 10 St. Rose. She had 15 vs Top 20 Manasquan. I could go on but what would be the point. I think you get it. Ryann Taylor is excelling against the best players in the state. She simply just doesn’t get the hype. A few weeks ago me and RFH head coach Dave Callahan were talking about Taylor and he said this “I love that kid because she never backs down or quits” I couldn’t agree more.
I thought about why Ryann Taylor doesn’t get more attention. I wondered why Ivy’s and Patriot schools are not kicking down her door. I see these schools are recruiting and offering players who simply not as good as a Taylor. Players is out played and in some cases dominated last year. But I think I have the answer. Ryann Taylor is not a kid who brings attention to herself. She doesn’t fight to get in the spotlight. She loves her teammates and her school. She is an old school kid. You know the type that just does there job and lets the chips fall where they may. Last summer she played for Team Rio. She had a excellent summer. But she has grown so much more as a player since last summer. You simply cannot compare that player to the player she is today. It would be a insult to her to do so.
Ryann Taylor is becoming an elite player. A way more dominant than the one coaches saw last summer. Her confidence is off the charts these days and as we all know it all starts right there. College coaches are going to be shocked this summer. Taylor will play for NJ PANTHERS a program Notorious for raising the profile of players and raising their level of play. Here is another tip for college coaches, RYANN TAYLOR is going to explode this summer. She is going to be on your wish list and that’s a fact. When they see a player who skill sets, IQ, competitive nature and toughness all come together, there going to be shocked because what they don’t know is this development and growth has been a process over years. Now we are seeing the results.
There are a few things I wish college coaches would do when watching Ryann Taylor. I hope they dig deeper when recruiting her and evaluating her talent. I hope they’d do the detail work and learn the things that separates her from so many others. Like Ryann Taylor goes abroad to countries like Rustic Pathways, Costa rica, Fiji and Dominican Republic, not for vacation but to do charity work. She has been doing this since she was 14 years old. I wish coaches knew she was a off the charts student. I wish they knew here parents Katy and Joe get it.. they totally get it… they totally understand what this entire thing is about. Helping Ryann mature and have healthy friendships are there goals. They have taught her to work to her goals with a steady hand. They don’t feel basketball is life and death. They feel basketball is something that makes her education and life more rounded. You see give me a talented kid who is competitive and a great student with great parents and I know that kid will never let me down.. that’s why RYANN TAYLOR is going to be even better at the next level.
I need to say this and I am talking to all the college coaches out there. Ryann Taylor is a division one talent and please don’t argue with me, because then I will have to bring up my track record in such matters. But this in not about that today. This is about something different. Because isn’t it time we start rooting for the good kids. Those kids who work hard. Those kids who give you everything on and off the court. Those kids who want to be coached and embrace coaching. It’s time we start filling rosters with kids who don’t just make themselves better but make there teammates, coaches and school better. RYANN TAYLOR is that kid. She is that kid when she walks in the gym it will be a pleasure to see her. She is that kid at the next level on big game night will elevate her game and allow everyone around her to shine. Thats whats she been doing each year…TIME TO START GIVING RYANN TAYLOR CREDIT… and that’s REAL TALK