Although Brandon Taylor’s height doesn’t immediately draw attention, the way he plays the game does.
The 5-foot-10 senior has had his fair share of difficulties while on the court. None of these are really related to his height, but it’s something colleges noticed during the recruiting process when he was in high school. Most players aspiring to play Division-I basketball have a few offers during their junior year, but this wasn’t the case for Taylor.
By the time his senior year rolled around, he hadn’t received a single phone call. Whether it was because of his height or due to other qualities colleges felt he lacked, Taylor wasn’t sure if he was even going to get an opportunity at the next level.
However, all that changed when he got a call from the Utes. Utah wasn’t the lone school to contact Taylor, but it was the one Taylor fell in love with.
“It was stressful,” Taylor said of his recruiting process. “I was scared, I was nervous, I didn’t know how I was going to play, but Utah showed tremendous love and support. They kept calling and kept coming to my games. At the end of the year I got more comfortable once I signed with them, and then I felt so free.”
Aside from the feeling he got from signing with the Runnin’ Utes, Utah didn’t seem to worry all too much about his height — not that it ever bothered Taylor in the first place. Taylor’s always been of the mindset to play with the most energy he can. When he’s on the court, he loses himself in the game.
He plays as if he is the tallest player on the floor and the only thing he’s ever focused on during a game is figuring out a way to help his team win.
“I don’t think I’m as little as people think I am,” Taylor said. “I never will play and limit myself. When you’re 6-foot-7 you don’t think about how you’re 6-foot-7. I was always told that it’s never about the size of the beast — it’s the heart that’s inside the beast. I’ve always been a person that has so much heart and relentless.”
This season, his final one, isn’t all that different from the beginning of his senior season in high school. He’s had some of his lowest points this year alone, a few that include missing late-game free throws against Stanford and then fouling a last second half-court attempt against OSU. While he may have lost a bit of confidence through these tough times, head coach Larry Krystkowiak never lost faith in him.
“He’s in the middle of a couple plays this season that might have finished somebody else off if you’re not the kind of character and caliber of a person that he is,” Krystkowiak said. “The Lord didn’t put these mishaps in front of him thinking he couldn’t handle it.”
Mistakes like those could have sent a player into a downward spiral, but it did the opposite for Taylor. Instead, he took it upon himself to make up for those two losses, and although Krystkowiak would never place the blame on him, he knew it would motivate him.
He’s had clutch moments against UCLA, USC and, most recently, against Arizona, when he drained a three-pointer to ice the win for the Utes.
“He’s hasn’t given up, and I couldn’t feel better for the guy, the fact that’s he’s come back,” Krystkowiak said. “ True to his nature that he’s never given up, and it’s really darn cool. It’s neat to see for him to get the taste out of his mouth and enjoy the tail end of his senior year.”
Through all the ups and downs of his entire basketball career, Taylor grown as a player, and he couldn’t think of a better place to do it than Utah. So as his time in Salt Lake City comes to close, he wants to savor each and every moment he gets on the court, especially this final home game against Colorado.
“It still has not hit me that it’s going to be my last game in the Huntsman Center,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t tell you what the feeling is like because it feels like I still have more games, but it’s been a tremendous ride since the minute I stepped on this campus.”
@kbrenneisen