December 20, 2022 • 44 mins
As the Nets rock their iconic ABA Stars & Stripes jerseys, Chris checks in with two-time ABA champion Brian Taylor, who built a New Jersey legend in Perth Amboy and at Princeton University, where he played for legendary coach Pete Carrill. A two-time All-Star and the Rookie of the Year, Brian was one of the ABA's top defensive players and a top 3-point shooter in both the ABA and NBA.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Merry Christmas, everybody,
Happy Hanukah. This is the voice of the Nets. I'm
Chris Carino. Pretty wonderful time for the Brooklyn Nets right
now as well as we record this. They are coming
off their sixth consecutive win, another come from behind win
in the Motor City, a memorable game, Kevin Durant with
(00:31):
a twenty six point third quarter, most points he's ever
scored in a quarter in his NBA career, which is
pretty illustrious, and the Nets came back from nineteen down
to one point seventeen down at the half to beat
the Pistons. There now nineteen and twelve, just three games
out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They're
(00:53):
thirteen and three in their last sixteen games and going
back to that West Coast swing in mid November where
they lost a game out in Sacramento. Since that game,
they have the best record in the NBA. So pretty
wonderful time for Brooklyn right now. And this recent four
game stretch a couple of really memorable games. I mentioned
(01:14):
that Kevin Durant game and the win come from behind
fashion against the Pistons. You had the game against the
Indiana Pacers where the Nets are without eight of their
top players and rallied to win that game, came from behind,
and that one as well, and then you had the
buzzer beater by Kyrie Irving in Toronto, the first buzzer
(01:36):
beater of Kyrie Irving's career. And in these last four
games on the road. The great thing is you're gonna
see these highlights for years, for decades, and in those highlights,
Kyrie Irving when he makes that buzzer beater and Kevin
Durant when he's making those three threes in the last
(01:56):
forty seconds of the third quarter, when they're replaying those
highlights for years and years and years, you're gonna see
them wearing those beautiful A B. A throwback uniforms, the
all white with the red letters and numbers nets and
capital letters across the chest, the thick blue stripe down
(02:16):
the less side of the uniform with the white stars
embedded in that blue stripe but trimmed in red. Such
a clean look, beauty. The Nets are celebrating their A
B A heritage by wearing these classic jerseys this year.
So we have an A B A fiend edition of
(02:36):
the Voice of the Nets here today. So we'll start
it out with a little trivia that's a BA based trivia.
It involves the three point line. The origin of the
three point line, and the three point line was part
of the pillars of the A B A. But it
didn't start with the A B A. It actually started
(02:56):
in ninete with the league called the A B. Abe Sapperstein,
good old Abe Sapperstein, the pioneer of the Harlem Globe Trotters,
started the A B L back in n and he
introduced the three point line for the first time. He
(03:18):
he saw the NBA game as getting a little mired
down with the big, burly guys that were clogging up
the paint, and he wanted away to open up the game,
creating more excitement, create some room for these smaller skilled players.
So he introduced the three point line. Now, the league
(03:38):
only lasted for like a year and a half and
it went away. But in nineteen sixty seven, the A
B A came around and they put the three point
line in. So here's my tributa question. We know the
A BA had the three point line, and then when
the A B A gets absorbed by the NBA when
they when they merged the four teams, the Nets, the Pacers,
the Spurs, and the Nuggets all go into the NBA O.
(04:01):
The NBA does not introduced the three point line right away.
It would take a couple of years, but they would
eventually go to the three point line. So here's the
trivia question. We know that Chris Ford made the first
three point shot in NBA history, but which player lead
(04:25):
the league in three pointers made in that first season
with the three point line in the NBA. Give me
the answer in a couple of minutes. We bring out
the red, white and blue ball. Today, we have a
genuine A B. A Nets alumnus, Brian Taylor joining us
(04:50):
here on the program. You know a lot about Dr
J of course in those red white and blue uniforms,
and Super John Williamson. Maybe you know about Bill Melicky,
only those numbers all hanging the rafters. But Brian Taylor
played in the in the A B A with the
Nets for four seasons, was a two time All Star,
(05:11):
was a key member of both A B A championship
teams in nineteen seventy four nineteen seventy six. You know
he actually was a first team All Defensive player in
the A B A twice. He led the league in
steels back in the nineties seventy four seventy five season.
He was the Rookie of the Year in the A
(05:31):
B A in the nineteen seventy two seventy three season.
And he's a Jersey guy. In high school, played for
Perth and Boy High School. The Panthers led him to
a state championship back in nineteen sixty eight, once scored
eighty four points in a game for Perth and Boy
(05:51):
High School. Went on to play at Princeton University under
the legendary Pete Corrill, and he laid just two seasons,
both years first team All IVY and is still fifth
on the Princeton all time scoring list, despite the fact
that all the guys ahead of him played four seasons
(06:14):
at Princeton. He played two selected with the twenty third
pick in the NBA draft back in nineteen seventy three
by the Seattle SuperSonics, but he was all about staying
in the area playing in the A B A playing
for the then New York Nets. Now he would never
play for the Nets in the NBA. He was traded
(06:34):
to the Kansas City Kings, part of the trade that
brought tiny Archibald to the Nets, and after a season
with the Kings and the Nuggets, he played four years
with San Diego the then San Diego Clippers, before retiring
after a torn achilles injury. Um, but I didn't know
Brian Taylor, and I didn't know a lot about Brian Taylor.
(06:55):
I'm not young enough to remember the A, B A.
I was six when the Nets one championship in n
I knew about the guys with the retired numbers and
the rafters. But I'm so glad I got to to
learn more about Brian Taylor and meet him. I've met
a lot of Nets alumni over the years, I've never
had a chance to meet Brian Taylor, but we did
this in person before Net game at Barkley Center recently,
(07:19):
and he is, as his his resume would tell you,
a gentleman and a scholar and a heck of an
athlete with a great history, part of the Nets franchise
history that they celebrate by wearing those great A, B
A throwbacks. And the answer to our tribute question. When
(07:43):
the NBA introduced the three point line for the first time,
which player led the NBA in three point field goals made.
It was none other than our guests today here on
the Voice of the Nets, Brian Taylor. I hope you
enjoy it. Here's our conversation with Brian, a genuine a
(08:08):
b A net in the building here at Barkley Center
as you record this. Brian Taylor, great to see you,
Thank you for coming on, Thank you for having me.
You came in with the black and white Botoally nets
and I and I joked with you, where was the
where's the red white? I thought you gotta come in
with the short shorts. I know, I wish I had
had a pair to my jersey because the kids are
(08:29):
always asking me for a replica something. But we're working
on that. Yeah, you get some of you'll get, we'll
get back. I'm really excited about this year. They're bringing
back the classics. Yes, and they wore these ones before,
back in the early two thousands. Remember when they were
in the finals and three they had the red white
and blues. But back then the style was the baggy,
(08:51):
you know, very loose, the long shorts that came down
over the knee. Now the guys are wearing a little
more tapered when I see the guys wear it now,
it reminds me more of when you got your the
short choice right, And when my kids see those pictures
and they're like, Dad, how the hext you get in? Though?
When you're aren't you embarrassed? Like it wasn't we didn't
(09:13):
think about that. That was the style. You were on
both of the next championship teams, the ABA teams. You
were an all star twice in the A B a
um N State championship Perth and Boy, New Jersey. And
then he didn't realize it was that long ago. No, No,
I realized it was that long ago because Heather invited
(09:35):
me to practice UM at the park. Yeah, and so
all the kids were lining up for all the younger guys,
and they were trying to figure out who this old guy.
They started googling man. Then I realized that how are
they supposed to know me? I was rookie year fifty
years ago during the seventy seventy three season, So that's
(09:57):
fifty years ago. Of course, I always I always appreciated
that they kept the name nets when they came to
Brooklyn because I feel like it does link you and
that A B A group to this group here in Brooklyn.
Do you still feel a kinship with your organization? I do.
I feel thanks to you know, Heather Hall and her
(10:18):
great staff when they invite us to different things, and
you know, it's really exciting to be a part of
this group. And it wasn't always that way in the past. UM,
we thought that did you know there would be a
celebration of maybe fiftieth year. I remember we had a
celebration back over New Jersey. UM, but we thought, you know,
(10:41):
during the fiftieth year, after our fiftieth year, there would
be a celebration. But I think now they're more inclined
and you know, with the great staff, they have to
building UM more of an alumni network of for the Nets.
On me being a local boy being from New Jersey, Yeah,
it feels great to you know, to be involved. I
want to say again I mentioned that the state championship
(11:03):
of Perthan Boy, then you wuldn't played at Princeton. You
start there and you played in the A B A
with the Nets. So for a very long period of
time you're able to play in the New York, New
Jersey area. You were drafted in the NBA by the
Seattle SuperSonics. But you went to play for the next
it's staying in this area. Have anything to do with that,
or give us a little bit of your insight into
(11:23):
you know why you excwed the NBA to play in
the A B A well being the local boy. I
wanted to stay close to home in high school, so
I went right down the street to Princeton. Of course,
that's that was because I wanted to get the best
education possible and be so close to school. I was lucky,
lucky to get in. I got in thanks to the
(11:45):
late coach kill Peekill. That was a local. You know,
that was a local step for me. But interesting story
is that we are on the coach about a month
ago and they said he used to sit in front
of Jackman Jim and said, boy, I'm going to have
to have a great teams and how am I going
to fill this place? Said, well, he just thought, I
(12:08):
just go right down the street because Brian Taylor is
down there and half the town went to the state
championship game in night we won the state championship. And
if I get him, I know I could fill Jadvans in.
But I just heard that story recently and I'm like, Wow,
that was another INCENTI for coach to get me into
Princeton because he knew I could with the fan club.
(12:29):
I definitely want to talk about and and it's funny
because I remember the first media day that I covered
way back in the Nets actually had their training camp
at Jadwin Jim at Princeton, and when they win the championship,
when their Nets won the Eastern Conference in both oh two,
one oh three, Eddie Jordan's instilled the Pete Kill motion offense.
(12:50):
So there's definitely a thing that I want to talk
to you about. Pete Kill. You played for Luke Krnseka.
But first I want to just I want to I
want to touch on though the you when the Nets
went to the n B A. I mean, we hear,
we hear all the time about those great A B
A Championship teams, but we know famously they sell dr
J right, they trade you. If that team had stayed together,
(13:14):
I'm curious to know what the NBA was like, how
you found the NBA when you first got to the
NBA in terms of the competition, how it measured up,
and what that Nets A B A team if they
had stayed together how good could they have been right
away in the NBA. So we would have been great,
(13:34):
for no, no doubt of mine my mind that we
would have been very, very competitive. And you know I'll
get to that. So let me for this year answer
to your first question, how I even wound up with
the nets rather than going to the n b A.
So I wasn't thinking about turning pro after my junior year.
It was one of the first guys to leave college
to go turn propo. Of course Dr j did the
(13:55):
year before. Spencer Hey would open the door with the
Supreme Court decision and then of course consequently the n
b A UM institating the hardship rule. Of course I
entered into the hardship draft, but coach Corseta showed interest
in Roy. Both showed interest in me. At the end
(14:17):
of my junior year, I was having a great year
at Princeton and they invited me to come see a
game in Long Island, and that was when they had
Rick Barley and they were in the finals against Indiana.
And I went to one of the games and my
eyes were just wide open with the red, white and
Blue ball and NASA Colosseum and being so close to
(14:37):
home in the belt Parkway, Like, boy, is this really true?
That they were interested in me leaving college to go
play pro ball? And so I really didn't even care
too much about the n b A. I knew I'd
be playing professional basketball in the A B A close
to home where my family and my friends and the
fans could come see me play. And I committed to
(14:58):
the Nests before the NBA draft, and so there was
word out that Seattle was interesting. I mean, the question
was did I sign or didn't I signs and they
didn't know. But I think they finally figured out that
I was going to go to the Nets, and they
drafted me as their second pick in the second round,
just as security in case that wasn't true. But my
(15:19):
heart was always set on Jay Red White and blue
ball playing with the New York Nets Long Island, and so,
you know, having the four great years here and then
going into the NBA. We were also motivated because we
were like second class citizens. People didn't believe that we
were good enough to be in the NBA because we
were in the A B A, and so we were
(15:40):
all psyched up to to prove otherwise that we deserved
to be in the n B A and not only
deserved to be in the NBA, but we were bringing
a whole new style and a whole new era into
the NBA. And my initial reaction to the NBA was,
come on, guys, can't you keep up? It was a
half quare game, yeah, and here coming playing with the
(16:02):
nets and the NBA, playing with Dr J on one
side and Larry Keenon on the other side, and you know,
Super John and the Whopper. You know, during that first
championship team, man, what a team. I mean you think
about it, Larry Keening on one side, Dr J on
the other, and the Whopper winds up playing more years
and everybody except maybe Dr Jay, I mean, Doctor got
(16:23):
over twenty. I think Billy Pauls might and winds up
with eighteen and twenty himself. Larry Keenon wound up with
the twelve or thirteen. Super John had at least ten.
I had ten. So we were NBA players. There's no
doubt that we were NBA players. But we just had
to go improve it in the NBA, and we did,
like this is this is the NBA. Come on, guys,
(16:45):
keep up. I remember running on the fast break and like,
come on, we got to play some basketball, that half
court stuff after Yeah, it's one of the great woods
in sports. If dr J had never left the next
going into the NBA, um, and maybe they kept that
team together and maybe you know, jumped in and won
a championship or something, that would have been amazing. I know,
I know there was a finance. It was a finance
(17:07):
this way. Both didn't you know, have the money to
make it all happen. They didn't. They never even expressed
interest in me. Uh, knowing that they didn't that they
couldn't afford to keep me because I was in the
ideal situation. My contract had expired, so I was truly
a free agent. Yeah, I wasn't sure where I was
gonna wind up. Um, they trade your Kansas City right
(17:30):
and tiny time comes. Um. It's funny you mentioned that
the open style of play. Uh, the the A B
A didn't have a three point did they have a three?
And and so you come to the n b A.
You that the first year that the NBA puts the
three point line in? Were you playing in San Diego?
(17:52):
You're playing interesting city. Yeah, I didn't like the three
point shot coming into the A B A. Because I'm
coming from coach Carrill, right, and so shot selection is
ultimate goodman range shot, and so shot selection was the
ultimate for coach Carrill, and so coming to a shooting
(18:14):
the three point shot, I took me a while to
get used to it. My last year in the n
b A, I wind up leaving the league in the percentage.
And they've gotten used to it. And the first year
that it's in place in the NBA, didn't you have
the motion three pointers? They didn't even have it. They
hated it so much because they said read you know
red or about hated it, so we don't want any
(18:36):
three point shot. They didn't have it for three years.
It wasn't until nineteen seventy nine went with they adopted it.
And I was lucky to have a great coach Jean
shoot ahead of his time, analytic mine. He said, I
got Brian, he can make that shot from a couple
of feet further out and get one extra point from
(18:57):
I want them shooting it. I made more three pointers
yeah year and seventy nine and eighteen other teams totals.
I think the Nets as a team at five, well,
think about how the game's changed. You led the NBA
in three pointers made. I think you made ninety right,
and thinking put that in perspective today, that wouldn't even
(19:19):
lead the league games into the season. It wouldn't lead
the league. I think step cry as we're taking this
step Cura, like twenty six games, you got a hundred
and seven UM and you mentioned you know, you read
red didn't want it in And ironically it's Chris Ford
on the Celtics who made the first ever three point shots.
(19:42):
You go back to your A B A game, So
you mentioned Dr J. What was it like to be
a teammate of Doctors. It's amazing to be teammate and
my big brother. Yeah, it's a think about. Doc was
true leader and more sense than one. Never really got
upset with his teammates, never yelled at us or anything
(20:06):
like that. Always under control and inspired us. It's like,
for instance, my mats a couple of turnovers, the mistakes,
instead of saying bat, come on, bat, you gotta get
to beat the warning about you're gonna get the next one. Yes,
stay positive, you know, keep your head and stay positive.
And so playing with Doc was um was amazing because
(20:28):
he made you so much better, not only because team um,
players are gonna leave me to go double team him
and leave me wide open all the time. And of
course he was unselfish player, and then he would always
spot me up. That's how I led the league in
three point shooting in seventy six because my guy was
always doubling with Doc and Doc will always find me
just so easy going, um, tremendous personality, true diplomat um.
(20:53):
It's just just unbelievable that I could say now that
I had three great years with him and played on
two championship teams with Dr Jane. It's funny because because
people some history means you will know who Brian Taylors.
But it's still especially with the new age. You know
jen X and gen Z, they have no clue. I
(21:14):
used to say, oh they woulday bright Daylor played that
he played pro basketball play and said, yeah, I might
claim the fame as I played with Dr Jay that
you know, some history dcor to all be. It must
have been something. Now when I tell the kids I
played with Dr j and it was like you play
with Dr Dret to figure out the whole new way
(21:35):
then man uh. And you know he also brought you know,
so there's so much style now in the NBA. You
know you see players walking into the arenas, there's a
big a lot of attention paid to what they're wearing
and the cool factor, right, and I think he was
You mentioned Spencer Hey what before, But there were guys
(21:56):
that did it, but nobody did it like Dr Joe
except nothing guy. Of course he wasn't in the A
B A. That's my man. Clide. Everybody want to be
like that. Stop same thing, Stocky managing six seven. We're
in you know, back in the day, we were in clocks, right.
Can you imagine same thing with artist Gilmore and with
Doc Doc six seven he put on the clocks. You know,
(22:18):
he's like six nine six times right, Artist Skillmo same
way seven two epen on the clock hills and he's
seventy five. And you go up to him. You know,
you'd be afraid of this guy because he's seven foot
five and he had this little little squeaky boy. She's like,
oh my god, there's nothing for me to be afraid
(22:39):
of with artist Skilmer to hear his boys, but he's
this big seven foot five guy. It's an amazing time.
The style and you know the culture that we Uh,
you know that we walked walked with was was really amazing.
You mentioned a couple of coaches that you played for
Pete Carillas he passed away recently. Um, in that motion
(23:01):
offense at Princeton, you're the fifth all time leading scorer
at Princeton and that's only three years. You had the
other guys ahead of you played four years. Um, you
talked about a guy who didn't look the part right,
this little guy glasses, But what what are things that
what you think of when you think of your days
in Pete Carroll. There's just so many memories of playing
(23:27):
on the coach career and the first thing I think
about then this how we looked and when he was
recruiting me and my teammates, my high school teammates who
would see him coming to the gym. And then he said,
bt is that Colombo here trying to increase you to
go on the TV show? You know Peter Fall You know, yeah,
(23:50):
but did not look like that, like the offense. But
we had so much in common. It's amazing with coach Queer.
We had so much in common. It used to say, mean,
he's like, you know, you could take us both out
of it. Together, but you can't take the you can't
take us. You take us out together, but you can't
take together out of us. Um coach crews from Pennsylvania,
(24:12):
hard h Milltown, bethle Him, Pennsylvania. His father is Emm
and Grant worked in um the steel mines and you know,
maze and hard working. Coach was the same way and tough, demanding.
Back in the day, a lot of yelling and so
(24:33):
the coach corn sacka coach yelling mean for taking them
three you know you talk about the three. Back in
the day, they were yelling at me for taking the
three hourdays. You get yelled at if you don't take
the three right. But coach career is very disciplined and perfectionists.
I loved him because he made you better, not only
(24:54):
as a basketball player but as a human being. A philosopher.
Always always had really um, really bright to say to you. Um.
So you know, I hope she's like a professor even
though he didn't graduate from Princeton. And he was like
he was like a professor, amazing, amazing man in the
(25:16):
in the A B. A. Luke cardseek as your coach
before he ends up being the St. John's coach Um,
So you had Louie before he was Louis with the
sweaters and everything. What do you remember back from the
coach Coach Carell and the coach Carca. The little guys,
you know, made me realize about the toughest guys I
(25:38):
had to play against and in the A B N.
And they go always the little guys. It's Calvin Murphy's,
it's the mac Calvin's you know there, Freddie Lewis, it's
the it's the little guys. You know that we're the toughest.
And they had both of them had the same type
of you know, fortitude and strength and power as little people.
(25:58):
Um and he was so cool. Coach had a Bob.
You still always laugh about how coach, especially meeting after
you won a game. Coach coaches Bob. And you know
he had a lot of swag. I remember about that
a coach Carter Secord was a swag. And and then
you know how much he loved New York. He used
to say, hey, come on, we gotta gotta take you
(26:20):
to the best of Italian restaurant in New York City.
So we used to hang out in the Manhattan, go
to this great Italian restaurants, and you know that was
just that was his world. Just just a fun guy
to be around. Yeah, what other coaches playing with any
Hall of Fame goatist, right, So from there I wind
up playing for Phil Johnson. Phil Johnson when I got
(26:42):
traded to Kansas City. UM, it's probably more well known
for his stant stint as being assistant coach with Jerry
Sloan out in Utah. But he was amazing. He was
an amazing head coach. UM, great discipline, old school type coach.
No music was allowed first direct um, but I loved
(27:05):
his I loved his style as well. And then from there,
of course another Hall of Fame coach and Larry Brown
with the Denver Nuggets. I had a short stint with
the Denver Nuggets. He taught me how to be really aggressive,
offensively fund the months, stressed fundamentals, just like Coach Carrell,
great all around coach, UM, really intellectual type, UM type coach.
(27:29):
And then from there the great Jean Shoe who just
passed away this past year, who of course was known
for being a great coach with the Wizards. They wanted
to Wizards then, but it was the bullets of multiple
Bullets coaching the old Monroe and then having the job
with the seventies six years, and of course UH coaching
Dr Jay and Joe Bryant, who happened to be my
(27:51):
teammate with the Clippers. He was a phenomenal coach to.
And then my last coach was Um Paul Silas, the
great bostonself. That's a great roster coaches your name. And
it's funny you talk about Larry Brown because he was
with the Nets at one point and abruptly left when
they were when they were had a really good team
(28:11):
and they were close to making the playoffs, and he
jumped for the Kansas job. But it's it seems like
everybody ever speaks to speaks so highly of Larry Brown
when they played for him. He just kind of had
that wandering eye all the time. He couldn't stay in
one place for a long time. But everybody that played
form really respected him. Yeah. It was a great coach
(28:32):
and no doubt about it. Always always teaching development. Yeah,
and that's what made this players are a lot better
because of his uh for for his genius and always
you mentioned too, sometimes even you shouldn't be mentioned about
Pete Carrill And I've heard this about Larry Brown too,
is that sometimes they just always wanted everything so perfect
(28:53):
and it could they could never get it that way.
He would frustrate that, you know, and they would be
there would be in your you know, in your head,
let me be that way if you weren't executing the
way they expected you too. But it just made you
a bad player. So you so the toughest guys you
ever played with? You mentioned a couple of them, like
(29:18):
a guy like Ron Booney. I got stick with the
A B A guys radio. Never never missed, never missed
a game. As a matter of fact, he knocked my
team down. Did he really with that story in the game?
In a game we got? It was? It was a
tough game. Was our first championship series in the seventy
four going him against Utah. Now the story with me
(29:41):
is they thought I was a soft, pretty boy from Princeton,
soft pretty bars wet. The my um mentors were telling
me like Tom Washington who was on the nets, uh,
and guys like Joe dupri he was St. John's player,
was with the next one. I came out and they
warned me, this is these guys don't like you and
(30:06):
why He said, well, you know you're your princeton, and yeah,
I beliegue and I think you're soft and whatnot. So
they said watch your back and I kind of laughed
at but I was playing ron real tough. Yeah, I
wouldn't let get breathed. He got frustrated with it, and
he turned around and knocked me in my mouth, knocked
(30:26):
out three and my front teeth. I guess who got
the worst of it. So the next morning, I'm at
the dentist. I'm getting new teeth and I'm ready to
go fly out to Utah day off with the following day.
This is the finals. I think we're we're up, Like,
we won our first two games, so we're up to Zip.
So we go out there the big game, Game three
(30:49):
on their court. He can't play, he got an infection
in his head and knocking my teeth. But to rewind
up being teammates on Kansas City, they drafted him in
the expansion Draft. When it wasn't expansion they called the
expansion draft. They call it another draft. All a A
players are drafted at the NBA, and we wind up
(31:12):
being a potent backcourt in our first year in the NBA.
I was the point guard, he was the shooting guard.
Toughest nails guy by name, Alan and Jabali Litva, Matt Calvin, tough,
toughest to be, Freddy Lewis, James Silas. They said that
if if he wasn't injured coming into the n b A,
he would have been an All Star, just like George
(31:34):
Gurvin playing against George Gervin, David Thompson, these guys. It's
funny because they they talked about the the statistics now
the players now, the statistics show far better. But guys
also played a lot, play a lot longer now than
they did back then. Because I think of think of
(31:56):
Kevin Durant tears his achilles and now he's out scoring
thirty points a game again. A couple of years later,
You tore your achilles and that was it right that career.
They kept me in the cast along. Of course, the
signs in the technology and medicine so much better nowadays
than it was in two when I tore my achillies.
(32:18):
But the problem, the challenge was they kept me in
a boot too long and he never could build this
calf back up. And even my son, my son had
played thirteen years in the German league. And yes, um,
Bryce Taylors, whose big star over there. As a matter
of fact, he's over there coaching now. But he tore
(32:38):
his achilles about I don't know, four years ago and
he came back and played for you more years. I
didn't have the ability to do that, um. And you know,
watching Kevin play, you would never think that he tore
us achilles. And so it's even been a band since
Colby tor is absolutely, it's just you know, even Edmund
sumthing ed been so were tours Achilles and missed all
(33:02):
of last year and now he's out there. Family, you
would never very quick a lot of football players, you
would see that happened a lot of times. You mentioned
your son. You have another son that's an assistant at St. John's,
young young son, Brendan Taylor, who's enjoying working with Micanderson
(33:24):
and the staff. Yeah and it. And you had a
brother that played professional football too, Yeah, brother, I gotta
go on the other side too. Then my brother Boost
is a phenomenal defensive quarterback for the San Francisco four
Niners and the Pumping Turner. And he was an NFL
rookie of the year. So one of the trivia questions
that we like to throw out to people, who's like,
(33:47):
what's brother combination at Rookie of the years and two
different professional lings? Because I was a Rookie of the
Year fifty years ago, I gotta Bruce Taylor was a NFL.
But I gotta look at it and anybody else ever done,
not brother combinations. That's we just gotta hope that they
believe that the ABA was a professional league. Well I
(34:10):
think it was. It was. We went into the end
and we proved that right were your were your parents athletes?
My father, from what I heard, he never talked about
is athletic prowess, but he said he was probably the
most talented Taylor because my cousin used as his uncle
and he used to ask his father, which one is
(34:31):
the best Taylor because younger brother that played a collegian basketball,
I was on the state and he was supposed to
be better than I was. So we had a history
of the which Taylor brother was the best? You know,
Bruce being a professional football player and even professional basketball
and my younger brother having a career in basketball overseas,
and he would my cousin and asked his dad, and
(34:54):
he says, Mr Taylor was the best athlete family, and
we would never know. He was humble. You don't even
talked about participation in sports. But he was a hell
of a football player and they said he was tremendous. Nextball,
Was he very involved in your career? He kind of did.
He kind of sit back, and he sat back And
then I wish I could have been the same way
(35:16):
with my kids. But I learned the lesson. But my dad,
this was the coolest guy in the world. Did they
call him Big Steve And he was just sitting the
stands and you would never know he was there. He
never tried to coach us. He just was there for
us when we needed him. That's a message I think
for a lot of parents with talented kids. Both of
(35:39):
his your your father, he's watched you, he was there
for you. He was dad. He sat in the stand
you knew he was there. Both his kids got to
the professional level. Yeah. Yeah, Um, when you end up
tearing your achilles, uh, you went back to Princeton, right,
you get you finished. That was the smartest thing I
did in terms of my educational career. Is the doctor
(36:02):
says that you might as to go back to school now,
and he said, you're You're done, and uh So I
went back in eighty three, wrote my thesis and eighty
four and graduated eighty four, which means I have to
stay in shape because you might tell people I'm the
class of eighty four. I got to pretend I'm ten
years younger than written in the class of seventy were
(36:23):
living on campus. Yeah, I was living on campus, former
NBA player in dorms. Living in Dorman was so much
different because now it's co education. When I want to Princeton,
the first time was the first year of co education.
Few ladies on campus. So when I go back in
eighty three to finish up eighty four, all my neighbors
(36:43):
are females, different places, it's different plays. I never eight alone.
All the kids wanted to find out the star got
my roommate the dorm next to me played with Dr Ja.
You always gonna believe this, but I tell everybody didn't
play with Dr Jay. Dr J play the point guard.
(37:05):
Yeah that's right, you were making the decisions. They laugh
at um. So then what did that lead you? What?
I left Princeton. I went I went into business became
a value at a dealer for IBM. Very really interested
in technology. H went and we sold hardware and software
(37:25):
to the utilities out in California because I finished up
in California and my career in California. But I had
an interest in my family. UM started to grow. I
had an interest in education, and so I reached out
to some friends at Princeton. It's all you need to
talk to the headmaster at Harvard Westlake, which is one
of the top private schools in the country, and just
(37:48):
go and do an informational interview with him. And I
was so tired of the technology business. The big boys
were coming and taking over. I said, I'm looking for change,
but I want to do something that my kids would
be proud of me doing. And he offered me. I
went and met with him. He says, oh, I need you.
(38:09):
I need you as an administrator. You could be one
of the directors of admissions to help us diversify Harvard Westlake,
wis timely Anglo school and UM. And you could teach
your computer science because I was a computer value out
of dealer, and you can also coach basketball. So and
I went and did that for ten years and then
(38:31):
decided to start my own schools. So with a friend
of mine from New Jersey, we started a charter of
school and we went from seven kids in the after
school to serve in uh over four thousand kids with
fifteen charter schools in Los Angeles. So my legacy is
an educational legacy, which is what I'm involved in right now. Um.
(38:54):
I formed a summer of a lifetime summer program when
I want to do which was important to me and
my career was exposed to kids to college early. So
not only will they get to college, but they get
to and be successful and make sure they graduate and
then so it's all about exposing them, um, to the
(39:15):
great universities in our in our country. Well, Brian Taylor,
I got about five minutes left with you here, so UM,
remember that Jimmy V never give up speech. I like
to end this, but he said three things to have
a full day. Everybody should laugh, crybie moved to emotion
somehow happy or sad, and uh and think so what
(39:35):
makes what makes you laugh? What makes me laugh? Is
I laugh at myself all the time because I have to,
because otherwise I'd be too serious. My kids make me laugh.
My my wife. She's funny, she's she's she's always making
me laugh. And you remind me of the laugh. That's
(39:56):
what about. Moved to tears, moved to your emotions, whether
it I've moved to my most sug yesterday knowing that um,
a very special person came back home and you know
who that is, Brittney Grinder. Yeah, and that and that
really touched my heart, you know. And my tears were
there and that my kids are saying. What made me
(40:20):
cry a lot was when we lost. I was crying, baby,
I hated to lose. I was crying where my teams
with my nets lose. I cryed, Oh, there you go.
So you're a crier. When you walk into this building
here at Barkley Center where we are doing this right now,
there's a big oculus you know, video video board, and
everybody who comes out of the subway going into the arena,
(40:41):
they can see it. If you could put a message
up there that you want everyone to think about, what
would it be. Well, my message is what I have
for the young people. I developed a curriculum and the
title of it is shoot for your goals. And I
(41:03):
hope him in I hook him with that shoot for
your goals. And the way I hope him with that
is because I tell him a little bit about my
history of being a shooter, and then I got your
intention like I had your intention. Then it's all about education,
because that's short lived. Professional career is short lived. That
this guy may play for years, right, but what are
(41:25):
you gonna do after that? That's it? And so I
teach them how to set goals and teach them the
essential skills. People call them the soft skills. I call
them the essential skills. So shoot for your goals, Chris,
Brian Taylor, so great to get to know you a
little bit. Thank you so much for doing great for
an invitation and I enjoy chatting with you all. Let's
(41:48):
go Nets. Thank you very much, Brian Taylor. Going down
memory lane in the A B A where it's great
to get to know Ryan Taylor and the Nets will
be wearing those throwback A BA uniforms throughout the course
of this season, and in fact, if you come out
(42:08):
to see the Nets take on the Spurs at Barkley
Center on Monday, January second, the first five thousand fans
are going to get one all those the replica courts
and it's the replica of the A B. A court.
It's gonna have the theme of the A B A uniform,
the stars and stripes uniform. So that's pretty cool. January second,
(42:31):
Nets and spurs. Go to sea geek dot com backslash
nets and get tickets. Come out to Barkley Center for
that one again. I want I wish everybody and Merry Christmas,
Happy Holidays. If you're looking again in the Christmas spirit,
I always give you a song recommendation. And this is
not a new song or anything, but I came to
(42:51):
this realization the other day. If you want to instantly
get in the Christmas spirit, just churn on the Andy
Williams version of It's the most Wonderful time of the year.
To me, that just is Christmas spirit injected into your
ears instantly. And not to leave Honka out. We know
(43:15):
there aren't a lot of Honakah songs, but of course
Adam Sandler made the Hanakah song in his connection to basketball.
In that connection to this podcast, as you know, Brian
Taylor was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, and yeah, Adam
Sandler mentions the Seattle SuperSonics in the Honekah song. Great
as that? All right, let's get back to watching Elf
(43:36):
and It's a Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation for the
eight five time this holiday season. Can't get enough of
those movies. And when you think of what Christmas movies
and Christmas music and the A, B A, it's nostalgic.
And for me, the thing that takes me back to
being a kid at Christmas time and the magic that
(43:59):
is always being a kid at Christmas time, there was
nothing better than Emmadaters Jug Band Christmas on HBO. You
can still find it on HBO go. So I'll leave
you with that. Thanks to my producer Tom Dowd, my
thanks to engineer Isaac Lee. I'm Chris Carino. This is
the Voice of the Nets. Thank you so much for listening.
Prese subscribe, talk to you again next week.
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Merry Christmas, everybody,
Happy Hanukah. This is the voice of the Nets. I'm
Chris Carino. Pretty wonderful time for the Brooklyn Nets right
now as well as we record this. They are coming
off their sixth consecutive win, another come from behind win
in the Motor City, a memorable game, Kevin Durant with
(00:31):
a twenty six point third quarter, most points he's ever
scored in a quarter in his NBA career, which is
pretty illustrious, and the Nets came back from nineteen down
to one point seventeen down at the half to beat
the Pistons. There now nineteen and twelve, just three games
out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They're
(00:53):
thirteen and three in their last sixteen games and going
back to that West Coast swing in mid November where
they lost a game out in Sacramento. Since that game,
they have the best record in the NBA. So pretty
wonderful time for Brooklyn right now. And this recent four
game stretch a couple of really memorable games. I mentioned
(01:14):
that Kevin Durant game and the win come from behind
fashion against the Pistons. You had the game against the
Indiana Pacers where the Nets are without eight of their
top players and rallied to win that game, came from behind,
and that one as well, and then you had the
buzzer beater by Kyrie Irving in Toronto, the first buzzer
(01:36):
beater of Kyrie Irving's career. And in these last four
games on the road. The great thing is you're gonna
see these highlights for years, for decades, and in those highlights,
Kyrie Irving when he makes that buzzer beater and Kevin
Durant when he's making those three threes in the last
(01:56):
forty seconds of the third quarter, when they're replaying those
highlights for years and years and years, you're gonna see
them wearing those beautiful A B. A throwback uniforms, the
all white with the red letters and numbers nets and
capital letters across the chest, the thick blue stripe down
(02:16):
the less side of the uniform with the white stars
embedded in that blue stripe but trimmed in red. Such
a clean look, beauty. The Nets are celebrating their A
B A heritage by wearing these classic jerseys this year.
So we have an A B A fiend edition of
(02:36):
the Voice of the Nets here today. So we'll start
it out with a little trivia that's a BA based trivia.
It involves the three point line. The origin of the
three point line, and the three point line was part
of the pillars of the A B A. But it
didn't start with the A B A. It actually started
(02:56):
in ninete with the league called the A B. Abe Sapperstein,
good old Abe Sapperstein, the pioneer of the Harlem Globe Trotters,
started the A B L back in n and he
introduced the three point line for the first time. He
(03:18):
he saw the NBA game as getting a little mired
down with the big, burly guys that were clogging up
the paint, and he wanted away to open up the game,
creating more excitement, create some room for these smaller skilled players.
So he introduced the three point line. Now, the league
(03:38):
only lasted for like a year and a half and
it went away. But in nineteen sixty seven, the A
B A came around and they put the three point
line in. So here's my tributa question. We know the
A BA had the three point line, and then when
the A B A gets absorbed by the NBA when
they when they merged the four teams, the Nets, the Pacers,
the Spurs, and the Nuggets all go into the NBA O.
(04:01):
The NBA does not introduced the three point line right away.
It would take a couple of years, but they would
eventually go to the three point line. So here's the
trivia question. We know that Chris Ford made the first
three point shot in NBA history, but which player lead
(04:25):
the league in three pointers made in that first season
with the three point line in the NBA. Give me
the answer in a couple of minutes. We bring out
the red, white and blue ball. Today, we have a
genuine A B. A Nets alumnus, Brian Taylor joining us
(04:50):
here on the program. You know a lot about Dr
J of course in those red white and blue uniforms,
and Super John Williamson. Maybe you know about Bill Melicky,
only those numbers all hanging the rafters. But Brian Taylor
played in the in the A B A with the
Nets for four seasons, was a two time All Star,
(05:11):
was a key member of both A B A championship
teams in nineteen seventy four nineteen seventy six. You know
he actually was a first team All Defensive player in
the A B A twice. He led the league in
steels back in the nineties seventy four seventy five season.
He was the Rookie of the Year in the A
(05:31):
B A in the nineteen seventy two seventy three season.
And he's a Jersey guy. In high school, played for
Perth and Boy High School. The Panthers led him to
a state championship back in nineteen sixty eight, once scored
eighty four points in a game for Perth and Boy
(05:51):
High School. Went on to play at Princeton University under
the legendary Pete Corrill, and he laid just two seasons,
both years first team All IVY and is still fifth
on the Princeton all time scoring list, despite the fact
that all the guys ahead of him played four seasons
(06:14):
at Princeton. He played two selected with the twenty third
pick in the NBA draft back in nineteen seventy three
by the Seattle SuperSonics, but he was all about staying
in the area playing in the A B A playing
for the then New York Nets. Now he would never
play for the Nets in the NBA. He was traded
(06:34):
to the Kansas City Kings, part of the trade that
brought tiny Archibald to the Nets, and after a season
with the Kings and the Nuggets, he played four years
with San Diego the then San Diego Clippers, before retiring
after a torn achilles injury. Um, but I didn't know
Brian Taylor, and I didn't know a lot about Brian Taylor.
(06:55):
I'm not young enough to remember the A, B A.
I was six when the Nets one championship in n
I knew about the guys with the retired numbers and
the rafters. But I'm so glad I got to to
learn more about Brian Taylor and meet him. I've met
a lot of Nets alumni over the years, I've never
had a chance to meet Brian Taylor, but we did
this in person before Net game at Barkley Center recently,
(07:19):
and he is, as his his resume would tell you,
a gentleman and a scholar and a heck of an
athlete with a great history, part of the Nets franchise
history that they celebrate by wearing those great A, B
A throwbacks. And the answer to our tribute question. When
(07:43):
the NBA introduced the three point line for the first time,
which player led the NBA in three point field goals made.
It was none other than our guests today here on
the Voice of the Nets, Brian Taylor. I hope you
enjoy it. Here's our conversation with Brian, a genuine a
(08:08):
b A net in the building here at Barkley Center
as you record this. Brian Taylor, great to see you,
Thank you for coming on, Thank you for having me.
You came in with the black and white Botoally nets
and I and I joked with you, where was the
where's the red white? I thought you gotta come in
with the short shorts. I know, I wish I had
had a pair to my jersey because the kids are
(08:29):
always asking me for a replica something. But we're working
on that. Yeah, you get some of you'll get, we'll
get back. I'm really excited about this year. They're bringing
back the classics. Yes, and they wore these ones before,
back in the early two thousands. Remember when they were
in the finals and three they had the red white
and blues. But back then the style was the baggy,
(08:51):
you know, very loose, the long shorts that came down
over the knee. Now the guys are wearing a little
more tapered when I see the guys wear it now,
it reminds me more of when you got your the
short choice right, And when my kids see those pictures
and they're like, Dad, how the hext you get in? Though?
When you're aren't you embarrassed? Like it wasn't we didn't
(09:13):
think about that. That was the style. You were on
both of the next championship teams, the ABA teams. You
were an all star twice in the A B a
um N State championship Perth and Boy, New Jersey. And
then he didn't realize it was that long ago. No, No,
I realized it was that long ago because Heather invited
(09:35):
me to practice UM at the park. Yeah, and so
all the kids were lining up for all the younger guys,
and they were trying to figure out who this old guy.
They started googling man. Then I realized that how are
they supposed to know me? I was rookie year fifty
years ago during the seventy seventy three season, So that's
(09:57):
fifty years ago. Of course, I always I always appreciated
that they kept the name nets when they came to
Brooklyn because I feel like it does link you and
that A B A group to this group here in Brooklyn.
Do you still feel a kinship with your organization? I do.
I feel thanks to you know, Heather Hall and her
(10:18):
great staff when they invite us to different things, and
you know, it's really exciting to be a part of
this group. And it wasn't always that way in the past. UM,
we thought that did you know there would be a
celebration of maybe fiftieth year. I remember we had a
celebration back over New Jersey. UM, but we thought, you know,
(10:41):
during the fiftieth year, after our fiftieth year, there would
be a celebration. But I think now they're more inclined
and you know, with the great staff, they have to
building UM more of an alumni network of for the Nets.
On me being a local boy being from New Jersey, Yeah,
it feels great to you know, to be involved. I
want to say again I mentioned that the state championship
(11:03):
of Perthan Boy, then you wuldn't played at Princeton. You
start there and you played in the A B A
with the Nets. So for a very long period of
time you're able to play in the New York, New
Jersey area. You were drafted in the NBA by the
Seattle SuperSonics. But you went to play for the next
it's staying in this area. Have anything to do with that,
or give us a little bit of your insight into
(11:23):
you know why you excwed the NBA to play in
the A B A well being the local boy. I
wanted to stay close to home in high school, so
I went right down the street to Princeton. Of course,
that's that was because I wanted to get the best
education possible and be so close to school. I was lucky,
lucky to get in. I got in thanks to the
(11:45):
late coach kill Peekill. That was a local. You know,
that was a local step for me. But interesting story
is that we are on the coach about a month
ago and they said he used to sit in front
of Jackman Jim and said, boy, I'm going to have
to have a great teams and how am I going
to fill this place? Said, well, he just thought, I
(12:08):
just go right down the street because Brian Taylor is
down there and half the town went to the state
championship game in night we won the state championship. And
if I get him, I know I could fill Jadvans in.
But I just heard that story recently and I'm like, Wow,
that was another INCENTI for coach to get me into
Princeton because he knew I could with the fan club.
(12:29):
I definitely want to talk about and and it's funny
because I remember the first media day that I covered
way back in the Nets actually had their training camp
at Jadwin Jim at Princeton, and when they win the championship,
when their Nets won the Eastern Conference in both oh two,
one oh three, Eddie Jordan's instilled the Pete Kill motion offense.
(12:50):
So there's definitely a thing that I want to talk
to you about. Pete Kill. You played for Luke Krnseka.
But first I want to just I want to I
want to touch on though the you when the Nets
went to the n B A. I mean, we hear,
we hear all the time about those great A B
A Championship teams, but we know famously they sell dr
J right, they trade you. If that team had stayed together,
(13:14):
I'm curious to know what the NBA was like, how
you found the NBA when you first got to the
NBA in terms of the competition, how it measured up,
and what that Nets A B A team if they
had stayed together how good could they have been right
away in the NBA. So we would have been great,
(13:34):
for no, no doubt of mine my mind that we
would have been very, very competitive. And you know I'll
get to that. So let me for this year answer
to your first question, how I even wound up with
the nets rather than going to the n b A.
So I wasn't thinking about turning pro after my junior year.
It was one of the first guys to leave college
to go turn propo. Of course Dr j did the
(13:55):
year before. Spencer Hey would open the door with the
Supreme Court decision and then of course consequently the n
b A UM institating the hardship rule. Of course I
entered into the hardship draft, but coach Corseta showed interest
in Roy. Both showed interest in me. At the end
(14:17):
of my junior year, I was having a great year
at Princeton and they invited me to come see a
game in Long Island, and that was when they had
Rick Barley and they were in the finals against Indiana.
And I went to one of the games and my
eyes were just wide open with the red, white and
Blue ball and NASA Colosseum and being so close to
(14:37):
home in the belt Parkway, Like, boy, is this really true?
That they were interested in me leaving college to go
play pro ball? And so I really didn't even care
too much about the n b A. I knew I'd
be playing professional basketball in the A B A close
to home where my family and my friends and the
fans could come see me play. And I committed to
(14:58):
the Nests before the NBA draft, and so there was
word out that Seattle was interesting. I mean, the question
was did I sign or didn't I signs and they
didn't know. But I think they finally figured out that
I was going to go to the Nets, and they
drafted me as their second pick in the second round,
just as security in case that wasn't true. But my
(15:19):
heart was always set on Jay Red White and blue
ball playing with the New York Nets Long Island, and so,
you know, having the four great years here and then
going into the NBA. We were also motivated because we
were like second class citizens. People didn't believe that we
were good enough to be in the NBA because we
were in the A B A, and so we were
(15:40):
all psyched up to to prove otherwise that we deserved
to be in the n B A and not only
deserved to be in the NBA, but we were bringing
a whole new style and a whole new era into
the NBA. And my initial reaction to the NBA was,
come on, guys, can't you keep up? It was a
half quare game, yeah, and here coming playing with the
(16:02):
nets and the NBA, playing with Dr J on one
side and Larry Keenon on the other side, and you know,
Super John and the Whopper. You know, during that first
championship team, man, what a team. I mean you think
about it, Larry Keening on one side, Dr J on
the other, and the Whopper winds up playing more years
and everybody except maybe Dr Jay, I mean, Doctor got
(16:23):
over twenty. I think Billy Pauls might and winds up
with eighteen and twenty himself. Larry Keenon wound up with
the twelve or thirteen. Super John had at least ten.
I had ten. So we were NBA players. There's no
doubt that we were NBA players. But we just had
to go improve it in the NBA, and we did,
like this is this is the NBA. Come on, guys,
(16:45):
keep up. I remember running on the fast break and like,
come on, we got to play some basketball, that half
court stuff after Yeah, it's one of the great woods
in sports. If dr J had never left the next
going into the NBA, um, and maybe they kept that
team together and maybe you know, jumped in and won
a championship or something, that would have been amazing. I know,
I know there was a finance. It was a finance
(17:07):
this way. Both didn't you know, have the money to
make it all happen. They didn't. They never even expressed
interest in me. Uh, knowing that they didn't that they
couldn't afford to keep me because I was in the
ideal situation. My contract had expired, so I was truly
a free agent. Yeah, I wasn't sure where I was
gonna wind up. Um, they trade your Kansas City right
(17:30):
and tiny time comes. Um. It's funny you mentioned that
the open style of play. Uh, the the A B
A didn't have a three point did they have a three?
And and so you come to the n b A.
You that the first year that the NBA puts the
three point line in? Were you playing in San Diego?
(17:52):
You're playing interesting city. Yeah, I didn't like the three
point shot coming into the A B A. Because I'm
coming from coach Carrill, right, and so shot selection is
ultimate goodman range shot, and so shot selection was the
ultimate for coach Carrill, and so coming to a shooting
(18:14):
the three point shot, I took me a while to
get used to it. My last year in the n
b A, I wind up leaving the league in the percentage.
And they've gotten used to it. And the first year
that it's in place in the NBA, didn't you have
the motion three pointers? They didn't even have it. They
hated it so much because they said read you know
red or about hated it, so we don't want any
(18:36):
three point shot. They didn't have it for three years.
It wasn't until nineteen seventy nine went with they adopted it.
And I was lucky to have a great coach Jean
shoot ahead of his time, analytic mine. He said, I
got Brian, he can make that shot from a couple
of feet further out and get one extra point from
(18:57):
I want them shooting it. I made more three pointers
yeah year and seventy nine and eighteen other teams totals.
I think the Nets as a team at five, well,
think about how the game's changed. You led the NBA
in three pointers made. I think you made ninety right,
and thinking put that in perspective today, that wouldn't even
(19:19):
lead the league games into the season. It wouldn't lead
the league. I think step cry as we're taking this
step Cura, like twenty six games, you got a hundred
and seven UM and you mentioned you know, you read
red didn't want it in And ironically it's Chris Ford
on the Celtics who made the first ever three point shots.
(19:42):
You go back to your A B A game, So
you mentioned Dr J. What was it like to be
a teammate of Doctors. It's amazing to be teammate and
my big brother. Yeah, it's a think about. Doc was
true leader and more sense than one. Never really got
upset with his teammates, never yelled at us or anything
(20:06):
like that. Always under control and inspired us. It's like,
for instance, my mats a couple of turnovers, the mistakes,
instead of saying bat, come on, bat, you gotta get
to beat the warning about you're gonna get the next one. Yes,
stay positive, you know, keep your head and stay positive.
And so playing with Doc was um was amazing because
(20:28):
he made you so much better, not only because team um,
players are gonna leave me to go double team him
and leave me wide open all the time. And of
course he was unselfish player, and then he would always
spot me up. That's how I led the league in
three point shooting in seventy six because my guy was
always doubling with Doc and Doc will always find me
just so easy going, um, tremendous personality, true diplomat um.
(20:53):
It's just just unbelievable that I could say now that
I had three great years with him and played on
two championship teams with Dr Jane. It's funny because because
people some history means you will know who Brian Taylors.
But it's still especially with the new age. You know
jen X and gen Z, they have no clue. I
(21:14):
used to say, oh they woulday bright Daylor played that
he played pro basketball play and said, yeah, I might
claim the fame as I played with Dr Jay that
you know, some history dcor to all be. It must
have been something. Now when I tell the kids I
played with Dr j and it was like you play
with Dr Dret to figure out the whole new way
(21:35):
then man uh. And you know he also brought you know,
so there's so much style now in the NBA. You
know you see players walking into the arenas, there's a
big a lot of attention paid to what they're wearing
and the cool factor, right, and I think he was
You mentioned Spencer Hey what before, But there were guys
(21:56):
that did it, but nobody did it like Dr Joe
except nothing guy. Of course he wasn't in the A
B A. That's my man. Clide. Everybody want to be
like that. Stop same thing, Stocky managing six seven. We're
in you know, back in the day, we were in clocks, right.
Can you imagine same thing with artist Gilmore and with
Doc Doc six seven he put on the clocks. You know,
(22:18):
he's like six nine six times right, Artist Skillmo same
way seven two epen on the clock hills and he's
seventy five. And you go up to him. You know,
you'd be afraid of this guy because he's seven foot
five and he had this little little squeaky boy. She's like,
oh my god, there's nothing for me to be afraid
(22:39):
of with artist Skilmer to hear his boys, but he's
this big seven foot five guy. It's an amazing time.
The style and you know the culture that we Uh,
you know that we walked walked with was was really amazing.
You mentioned a couple of coaches that you played for
Pete Carillas he passed away recently. Um, in that motion
(23:01):
offense at Princeton, you're the fifth all time leading scorer
at Princeton and that's only three years. You had the
other guys ahead of you played four years. Um, you
talked about a guy who didn't look the part right,
this little guy glasses, But what what are things that
what you think of when you think of your days
in Pete Carroll. There's just so many memories of playing
(23:27):
on the coach career and the first thing I think
about then this how we looked and when he was
recruiting me and my teammates, my high school teammates who
would see him coming to the gym. And then he said,
bt is that Colombo here trying to increase you to
go on the TV show? You know Peter Fall You know, yeah,
(23:50):
but did not look like that, like the offense. But
we had so much in common. It's amazing with coach Queer.
We had so much in common. It used to say, mean,
he's like, you know, you could take us both out
of it. Together, but you can't take the you can't
take us. You take us out together, but you can't
take together out of us. Um coach crews from Pennsylvania,
(24:12):
hard h Milltown, bethle Him, Pennsylvania. His father is Emm
and Grant worked in um the steel mines and you know,
maze and hard working. Coach was the same way and tough, demanding.
Back in the day, a lot of yelling and so
(24:33):
the coach corn sacka coach yelling mean for taking them
three you know you talk about the three. Back in
the day, they were yelling at me for taking the
three hourdays. You get yelled at if you don't take
the three right. But coach career is very disciplined and perfectionists.
I loved him because he made you better, not only
(24:54):
as a basketball player but as a human being. A philosopher.
Always always had really um, really bright to say to you. Um.
So you know, I hope she's like a professor even
though he didn't graduate from Princeton. And he was like
he was like a professor, amazing, amazing man in the
(25:16):
in the A B. A. Luke cardseek as your coach
before he ends up being the St. John's coach Um,
So you had Louie before he was Louis with the
sweaters and everything. What do you remember back from the
coach Coach Carell and the coach Carca. The little guys,
you know, made me realize about the toughest guys I
(25:38):
had to play against and in the A B N.
And they go always the little guys. It's Calvin Murphy's,
it's the mac Calvin's you know there, Freddie Lewis, it's
the it's the little guys. You know that we're the toughest.
And they had both of them had the same type
of you know, fortitude and strength and power as little people.
(25:58):
Um and he was so cool. Coach had a Bob.
You still always laugh about how coach, especially meeting after
you won a game. Coach coaches Bob. And you know
he had a lot of swag. I remember about that
a coach Carter Secord was a swag. And and then
you know how much he loved New York. He used
to say, hey, come on, we gotta gotta take you
(26:20):
to the best of Italian restaurant in New York City.
So we used to hang out in the Manhattan, go
to this great Italian restaurants, and you know that was
just that was his world. Just just a fun guy
to be around. Yeah, what other coaches playing with any
Hall of Fame goatist, right, So from there I wind
up playing for Phil Johnson. Phil Johnson when I got
(26:42):
traded to Kansas City. UM, it's probably more well known
for his stant stint as being assistant coach with Jerry
Sloan out in Utah. But he was amazing. He was
an amazing head coach. UM, great discipline, old school type coach.
No music was allowed first direct um, but I loved
(27:05):
his I loved his style as well. And then from there,
of course another Hall of Fame coach and Larry Brown
with the Denver Nuggets. I had a short stint with
the Denver Nuggets. He taught me how to be really aggressive,
offensively fund the months, stressed fundamentals, just like Coach Carrell,
great all around coach, UM, really intellectual type, UM type coach.
(27:29):
And then from there the great Jean Shoe who just
passed away this past year, who of course was known
for being a great coach with the Wizards. They wanted
to Wizards then, but it was the bullets of multiple
Bullets coaching the old Monroe and then having the job
with the seventies six years, and of course UH coaching
Dr Jay and Joe Bryant, who happened to be my
(27:51):
teammate with the Clippers. He was a phenomenal coach to.
And then my last coach was Um Paul Silas, the
great bostonself. That's a great roster coaches your name. And
it's funny you talk about Larry Brown because he was
with the Nets at one point and abruptly left when
they were when they were had a really good team
(28:11):
and they were close to making the playoffs, and he
jumped for the Kansas job. But it's it seems like
everybody ever speaks to speaks so highly of Larry Brown
when they played for him. He just kind of had
that wandering eye all the time. He couldn't stay in
one place for a long time. But everybody that played
form really respected him. Yeah. It was a great coach
(28:32):
and no doubt about it. Always always teaching development. Yeah,
and that's what made this players are a lot better
because of his uh for for his genius and always
you mentioned too, sometimes even you shouldn't be mentioned about
Pete Carrill And I've heard this about Larry Brown too,
is that sometimes they just always wanted everything so perfect
(28:53):
and it could they could never get it that way.
He would frustrate that, you know, and they would be
there would be in your you know, in your head,
let me be that way if you weren't executing the
way they expected you too. But it just made you
a bad player. So you so the toughest guys you
ever played with? You mentioned a couple of them, like
(29:18):
a guy like Ron Booney. I got stick with the
A B A guys radio. Never never missed, never missed
a game. As a matter of fact, he knocked my
team down. Did he really with that story in the game?
In a game we got? It was? It was a
tough game. Was our first championship series in the seventy
four going him against Utah. Now the story with me
(29:41):
is they thought I was a soft, pretty boy from Princeton,
soft pretty bars wet. The my um mentors were telling
me like Tom Washington who was on the nets, uh,
and guys like Joe dupri he was St. John's player,
was with the next one. I came out and they
warned me, this is these guys don't like you and
(30:06):
why He said, well, you know you're your princeton, and yeah,
I beliegue and I think you're soft and whatnot. So
they said watch your back and I kind of laughed
at but I was playing ron real tough. Yeah, I
wouldn't let get breathed. He got frustrated with it, and
he turned around and knocked me in my mouth, knocked
(30:26):
out three and my front teeth. I guess who got
the worst of it. So the next morning, I'm at
the dentist. I'm getting new teeth and I'm ready to
go fly out to Utah day off with the following day.
This is the finals. I think we're we're up, Like,
we won our first two games, so we're up to Zip.
So we go out there the big game, Game three
(30:49):
on their court. He can't play, he got an infection
in his head and knocking my teeth. But to rewind
up being teammates on Kansas City, they drafted him in
the expansion Draft. When it wasn't expansion they called the
expansion draft. They call it another draft. All a A
players are drafted at the NBA, and we wind up
(31:12):
being a potent backcourt in our first year in the NBA.
I was the point guard, he was the shooting guard.
Toughest nails guy by name, Alan and Jabali Litva, Matt Calvin, tough,
toughest to be, Freddy Lewis, James Silas. They said that
if if he wasn't injured coming into the n b A,
he would have been an All Star, just like George
(31:34):
Gurvin playing against George Gervin, David Thompson, these guys. It's
funny because they they talked about the the statistics now
the players now, the statistics show far better. But guys
also played a lot, play a lot longer now than
they did back then. Because I think of think of
(31:56):
Kevin Durant tears his achilles and now he's out scoring
thirty points a game again. A couple of years later,
You tore your achilles and that was it right that career.
They kept me in the cast along. Of course, the
signs in the technology and medicine so much better nowadays
than it was in two when I tore my achillies.
(32:18):
But the problem, the challenge was they kept me in
a boot too long and he never could build this
calf back up. And even my son, my son had
played thirteen years in the German league. And yes, um,
Bryce Taylors, whose big star over there. As a matter
of fact, he's over there coaching now. But he tore
(32:38):
his achilles about I don't know, four years ago and
he came back and played for you more years. I
didn't have the ability to do that, um. And you know,
watching Kevin play, you would never think that he tore
us achilles. And so it's even been a band since
Colby tor is absolutely, it's just you know, even Edmund
sumthing ed been so were tours Achilles and missed all
(33:02):
of last year and now he's out there. Family, you
would never very quick a lot of football players, you
would see that happened a lot of times. You mentioned
your son. You have another son that's an assistant at St. John's,
young young son, Brendan Taylor, who's enjoying working with Micanderson
(33:24):
and the staff. Yeah and it. And you had a
brother that played professional football too, Yeah, brother, I gotta
go on the other side too. Then my brother Boost
is a phenomenal defensive quarterback for the San Francisco four
Niners and the Pumping Turner. And he was an NFL
rookie of the year. So one of the trivia questions
that we like to throw out to people, who's like,
(33:47):
what's brother combination at Rookie of the years and two
different professional lings? Because I was a Rookie of the
Year fifty years ago, I gotta Bruce Taylor was a NFL.
But I gotta look at it and anybody else ever done,
not brother combinations. That's we just gotta hope that they
believe that the ABA was a professional league. Well I
(34:10):
think it was. It was. We went into the end
and we proved that right were your were your parents athletes?
My father, from what I heard, he never talked about
is athletic prowess, but he said he was probably the
most talented Taylor because my cousin used as his uncle
and he used to ask his father, which one is
(34:31):
the best Taylor because younger brother that played a collegian basketball,
I was on the state and he was supposed to
be better than I was. So we had a history
of the which Taylor brother was the best? You know,
Bruce being a professional football player and even professional basketball
and my younger brother having a career in basketball overseas,
and he would my cousin and asked his dad, and
(34:54):
he says, Mr Taylor was the best athlete family, and
we would never know. He was humble. You don't even
talked about participation in sports. But he was a hell
of a football player and they said he was tremendous. Nextball,
Was he very involved in your career? He kind of did.
He kind of sit back, and he sat back And
then I wish I could have been the same way
(35:16):
with my kids. But I learned the lesson. But my dad,
this was the coolest guy in the world. Did they
call him Big Steve And he was just sitting the
stands and you would never know he was there. He
never tried to coach us. He just was there for
us when we needed him. That's a message I think
for a lot of parents with talented kids. Both of
(35:39):
his your your father, he's watched you, he was there
for you. He was dad. He sat in the stand
you knew he was there. Both his kids got to
the professional level. Yeah. Yeah, Um, when you end up
tearing your achilles, uh, you went back to Princeton, right,
you get you finished. That was the smartest thing I
did in terms of my educational career. Is the doctor
(36:02):
says that you might as to go back to school now,
and he said, you're You're done, and uh So I
went back in eighty three, wrote my thesis and eighty
four and graduated eighty four, which means I have to
stay in shape because you might tell people I'm the
class of eighty four. I got to pretend I'm ten
years younger than written in the class of seventy were
(36:23):
living on campus. Yeah, I was living on campus, former
NBA player in dorms. Living in Dorman was so much
different because now it's co education. When I want to Princeton,
the first time was the first year of co education.
Few ladies on campus. So when I go back in
eighty three to finish up eighty four, all my neighbors
(36:43):
are females, different places, it's different plays. I never eight alone.
All the kids wanted to find out the star got
my roommate the dorm next to me played with Dr Ja.
You always gonna believe this, but I tell everybody didn't
play with Dr Jay. Dr J play the point guard.
(37:05):
Yeah that's right, you were making the decisions. They laugh
at um. So then what did that lead you? What?
I left Princeton. I went I went into business became
a value at a dealer for IBM. Very really interested
in technology. H went and we sold hardware and software
(37:25):
to the utilities out in California because I finished up
in California and my career in California. But I had
an interest in my family. UM started to grow. I
had an interest in education, and so I reached out
to some friends at Princeton. It's all you need to
talk to the headmaster at Harvard Westlake, which is one
of the top private schools in the country, and just
(37:48):
go and do an informational interview with him. And I
was so tired of the technology business. The big boys
were coming and taking over. I said, I'm looking for change,
but I want to do something that my kids would
be proud of me doing. And he offered me. I
went and met with him. He says, oh, I need you.
(38:09):
I need you as an administrator. You could be one
of the directors of admissions to help us diversify Harvard Westlake,
wis timely Anglo school and UM. And you could teach
your computer science because I was a computer value out
of dealer, and you can also coach basketball. So and
I went and did that for ten years and then
(38:31):
decided to start my own schools. So with a friend
of mine from New Jersey, we started a charter of
school and we went from seven kids in the after
school to serve in uh over four thousand kids with
fifteen charter schools in Los Angeles. So my legacy is
an educational legacy, which is what I'm involved in right now. Um.
(38:54):
I formed a summer of a lifetime summer program when
I want to do which was important to me and
my career was exposed to kids to college early. So
not only will they get to college, but they get
to and be successful and make sure they graduate and
then so it's all about exposing them, um, to the
(39:15):
great universities in our in our country. Well, Brian Taylor,
I got about five minutes left with you here, so UM,
remember that Jimmy V never give up speech. I like
to end this, but he said three things to have
a full day. Everybody should laugh, crybie moved to emotion
somehow happy or sad, and uh and think so what
(39:35):
makes what makes you laugh? What makes me laugh? Is
I laugh at myself all the time because I have to,
because otherwise I'd be too serious. My kids make me laugh.
My my wife. She's funny, she's she's she's always making
me laugh. And you remind me of the laugh. That's
(39:56):
what about. Moved to tears, moved to your emotions, whether
it I've moved to my most sug yesterday knowing that um,
a very special person came back home and you know
who that is, Brittney Grinder. Yeah, and that and that
really touched my heart, you know. And my tears were
there and that my kids are saying. What made me
(40:20):
cry a lot was when we lost. I was crying, baby,
I hated to lose. I was crying where my teams
with my nets lose. I cryed, Oh, there you go.
So you're a crier. When you walk into this building
here at Barkley Center where we are doing this right now,
there's a big oculus you know, video video board, and
everybody who comes out of the subway going into the arena,
(40:41):
they can see it. If you could put a message
up there that you want everyone to think about, what
would it be. Well, my message is what I have
for the young people. I developed a curriculum and the
title of it is shoot for your goals. And I
(41:03):
hope him in I hook him with that shoot for
your goals. And the way I hope him with that
is because I tell him a little bit about my
history of being a shooter, and then I got your
intention like I had your intention. Then it's all about education,
because that's short lived. Professional career is short lived. That
this guy may play for years, right, but what are
(41:25):
you gonna do after that? That's it? And so I
teach them how to set goals and teach them the
essential skills. People call them the soft skills. I call
them the essential skills. So shoot for your goals, Chris,
Brian Taylor, so great to get to know you a
little bit. Thank you so much for doing great for
an invitation and I enjoy chatting with you all. Let's
(41:48):
go Nets. Thank you very much, Brian Taylor. Going down
memory lane in the A B A where it's great
to get to know Ryan Taylor and the Nets will
be wearing those throwback A BA uniforms throughout the course
of this season, and in fact, if you come out
(42:08):
to see the Nets take on the Spurs at Barkley
Center on Monday, January second, the first five thousand fans
are going to get one all those the replica courts
and it's the replica of the A B. A court.
It's gonna have the theme of the A B A uniform,
the stars and stripes uniform. So that's pretty cool. January second,
(42:31):
Nets and spurs. Go to sea geek dot com backslash
nets and get tickets. Come out to Barkley Center for
that one again. I want I wish everybody and Merry Christmas,
Happy Holidays. If you're looking again in the Christmas spirit,
I always give you a song recommendation. And this is
not a new song or anything, but I came to
(42:51):
this realization the other day. If you want to instantly
get in the Christmas spirit, just churn on the Andy
Williams version of It's the most Wonderful time of the year.
To me, that just is Christmas spirit injected into your
ears instantly. And not to leave Honka out. We know
(43:15):
there aren't a lot of Honakah songs, but of course
Adam Sandler made the Hanakah song in his connection to basketball.
In that connection to this podcast, as you know, Brian
Taylor was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, and yeah, Adam
Sandler mentions the Seattle SuperSonics in the Honekah song. Great
as that? All right, let's get back to watching Elf
(43:36):
and It's a Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation for the
eight five time this holiday season. Can't get enough of
those movies. And when you think of what Christmas movies
and Christmas music and the A, B A, it's nostalgic.
And for me, the thing that takes me back to
being a kid at Christmas time and the magic that
(43:59):
is always being a kid at Christmas time, there was
nothing better than Emmadaters Jug Band Christmas on HBO. You
can still find it on HBO go. So I'll leave
you with that. Thanks to my producer Tom Dowd, my
thanks to engineer Isaac Lee. I'm Chris Carino. This is
the Voice of the Nets. Thank you so much for listening.
Prese subscribe, talk to you again next week.
Host
Chris Carrino
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