Commentary: Taylor takes step toward a big-time job

When you win like Tim Taylor has in his coaching career, you have options. In this case they were both good options.

Taylor could have returned to Madison County High School, where he coached the Mountain-eers to a 28-1 record last year and had so much talent coming back Madison will be the runaway favorite to win a Group A state basketball championship next year.

That’s an enviable position for most coaches. Taylor is a Madison native and the people in his hometown pack the gym every time his team plays. But really, who could pass us what the Uni-versity of Virginia was offering?

Taylor will become the associated head women’s coach for the Cavaliers, returning to the staff he was a part of four years ago. He’ll be the second in command for one of the top programs in the ACC and one that is quickly rising to national prominence. He’s taking a college job that doesn’t require him to pack up and move his family and allows him to focus on basketball full time after also working in home loans at Bank of America the past few years.

But maybe the biggest reason this is a good move for Taylor is that he has what it takes to be a major college head coach, and this might be the first step to eventually landing that kind of job. He’ll be in charge of the Virginia program whenever head coach Debbie Ryan is absent and he’ll be the lead recruiter in Charlottesville, a job that anybody who has met Taylor knows he is suited for.

Ryan gets a great deal of praise for turning U.Va. into one of the top women’s programs around, and rightfully so. She’s a hall of fame coach who has won 20 or more games 21 times in 31 seasons at Virginia.

But the Cavaliers wouldn’t be where they are right now without Taylor. In his first stint there he recruited many of the best players on the 2008-09 team, including All-American Monica Wright and WNBA draft pick Lyndra Littles.

There’s no reason to think Virginia won’t have great talent for as long as Taylor is there and in the four years since he left U.Va. he’s shown exactly what he can do when he has great talent to coach.

He went 83-23 in four years coaching high school boys. With all-everything players such as Bradley Starks and Quintin Hunter he coached Orange to the schools first appearance in the Group AA state tournament.

When he returned to Madison two years ago he inherited a program filled with young talent. Last year the Mountaineers used a run-and-gun style to win their first 28 games before they were knocked off by Dan River in the state semifinals.

Ryan can’t coach at U.Va. for ever. After 31 years and more than 600 victories the end of the line must be in sight for the legendary coach. Naming Taylor the associate head coach would seem to indicate he’s next in line to take over the program if Ryan retires.

You certainly couldn’t fault Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage if that’s what he’s thinking.

With so much to look forward to it was still a bittersweet day for Taylor. Tears were flowing when he and his players sat at a press conference in Richmond after losing to Dan River and the only comforting thought was that the Mountaineers knew they had a tremendous opportunity to be back there next year and win the whole thing.

The players still have that opportunity and you can bet Taylor will be among their biggest sup-porters.