BOYS BASKETBALL COACH OF THE YEAR Randy Taylor led Scotland to PIAA Class A semifinals

Public Opinion Online
Posted: 03/19/2009 12:41:21 AM EDT

Why he was chosen: Entering the 2008-09 season, the Scotland Cadets returned 6-foot-6 All-State center Byron Johnson and little else.

Even Taylor admitted he had no idea what to expect from this group.

With Taylor pushing all the right buttons, Scotland made an unexpected run deep into the state tournament.

The Cadets won the Mid Penn Capital Division and then shook off a District 3 Class A semifinal loss to Reading Central Catholic to finish third.

Then came the PIAA Tournament, where the Cadets beat Bishop Carroll, unbeaten Millville and Reading Central Catholic in a rematch to make the semifinals.

Taylor had the Cadets playing their best late in the season, as they won 14 of their final 17 games.

Suprising season: “I had no idea. I knew Deacon (Stewart) could be pretty good but didn’t know how good. Darryl (Kugmeh) started a couple games last year and Byron (Johnson) is Byron.

“But Justin Pernell got injured during football and we were counting on him. We had Tyree Wilson penciled in as the starting JV point guard and we thought Fajion Jones could be pretty good.

“I went into work right before Christmas and told one of my co-workers I thought we could be pretty good. He said, ‘You beat Big Spring’ and I said I know but I saw some things from Tyree and Fajion that made me think we could be good.”

Having to do more coaching: “This year was a real work in progress. We had to do a lot of different things to find ourselves and we did a lot more X’s and O’s and instructing than in the past.”

On finding out about possible school closing: “I’m proud of the kids — we had a lot of things effect us this year with some early losses and then the bombshell from the Governor’s office. We had a lot of ups and downs happen and I’m proud how they responded. One thing I learned is these kids come from difficult environments at home and they don’t seem to be as effected by chaos as adults are.”

State playoff run: “Before, we were who we were. It really was no secret how we were going to play. We were going to get in your chest and wear you down. This year, it’s been totally different. No two nights have been the same. But the good thing is we played our best basketball at the right time of the year.” Coach of the Year

Name: Randy Taylor

School: Scotland

Record: 21-7 (7-3 Mid Penn Capital Division).

Titles won: Won the MPC Capital Division title, finished third in the District 3 Class A Tournament and reached the PIAA Class A semifinals.

Career record: 109-51 (.681).

Job: Works at Horace Mann Insurance Company

Education: Graduated from Shippensburg High School (1987) and got his bachelor and masters degrees from Shippensburg University … He was in the Army for 2 years and the National Guard for 7 years.

Family: Taylor and his wife, Marcie, have 2 children — Lauren, 9, and baby boy Seth Andrew, who was born Dec. 30.

Coaching background: Taylor was a varsity assistant at Big Spring (2 years) and Chambersburg (4 years) before moving on to Scotland, where he’s been the last 8 years.