By Mike Perrin
Taylor Adams doesn't think there's any secret formula to her success this season for the Shorter University Lady Hawks. She is tops in the Gulf South Conference in scoring – less than a bucket out of first in all of Division II. She is second in the league in rebounds and steals and third in the country in free throws attempted and made.
How does she do it?
"I just continue to go hard every game," the December graduate in Sports Management said. "If I play hard things usually just happen for me!
"During the offseason I do a lot of cardio – and play open gym at my local rec center."
Hard work goes a long way with the stellar talent that has the Scottsboro, Ala., native averaging a double-double for Coach Vic Mitchell's 5-8 squad.
"This is my 33rd year as a college basketball coach," Mitchell said, "my 27th at Shorter, and she's obviously one of the most talented players I've had the opportunity to coach. No. 1, she has tremendous athleticism and she's very skilled at basketball. But, what sets her apart is her tremendous attitude. She has a humbleness that keeps her really grounded.
"If you watch us play, whether she's struggling a little or scoring 30 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, her demeanor never changes. She's very grounded in her faith, her academics and her athletics. What you have from her is who she is. There's no doubt about that."
The 6-foot-1 Adams is pouring in 21.2 points a game to go along with 10.6 rebounds per outing. She has led the team in rebounds every game – until Thursday night's loss at Union when she played less than half the game due to illness – and has been the top scorer in 9 of 13, seemingly picking up from where she left off a year ago – in her first season on the court in Rome, Ga., after sitting out her transfer season from junior college with a broken wrist. As a redshirt junior, she earned first-team All-GSC and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention honors after leading the league with 15 double-doubles. She averaged 16.1 points and 10.7 rebounds as the Lady Hawks advanced to the GSC tournament semifinals and finished with a 20-8 record.
"Most of her points come in our halfcourt offense," Mitchell said, "and putbacks are a big part. But, she is hitting a few 3-pointers this year (6 out of 16 thus far). Against Valdosta, she was 9-for-11 from the field, 6-for-6 from the line and 1-for-1 from behind the arc. She took 11 shots and scored 25 points.
"We knew we were getting a good player, one who could average a double-double. She wasn't comfortable taking on that role at the beginning, so she passed up opportunities. Finally, we said to her, 'You've got to shoot more than 10 shots a game. You're too talented and you need to be a go-to player.'
"Sometimes she puts too much pressure on herself," the coach said. "We have struggled some this year with some injuries and she has tried to do so much. We had to have some talks with her about, 'You can't put too much on yourself.' But, she is one of those at the top of my list in 33 years as far as giving maximum effort every game out."
The 22-year-old Adams, who has two older brothers as well as an 11-month old brother, is the first in her family to earn a college degree. After leading Section High School to its first girls' basketball state title – and along the way, she won Class 2A Player of the Year and state tournament MVP honors – Adams took her talents to junior college about an hour from home at Gadsden (Ala.) State Community College.
The double-double machine scored 12 points and claimed 12 rebounds for the 2013-14 season while leading the Alabama Community College Conference in rebounds and field-goal percentage (60 percent) and ranking first in defensive boards nationally, fourth in total rebounds and eighth in rebounds per game. She graduated with a 3.62 grade point average. This season, by the way, her GPA is a mere 3.8.
Adams has been playing basketball for a long time, first hitting the court when she was in the third grade. "I got moved up to varsity my sophomore year at Section and started every game that year as well as my junior and senior year," she said. "I was actually average height growing up and I was a guard until I played varsity. That's when I hit my growth spurt and moved to the post, but even then I helped bring the ball up and played out on the wing a lot.
"At Gadsden State my head coach started me out on the wing, but it soon changed after he saw the rebounds I could get."
Becoming a standout in the GSC in just Shorter's second and third year as a fully eligible D2 squad, the modest Adams said, was something of a shock. "I never would have expected to put up the numbers that I have here at Shorter. I would say I've surprised myself.
"I feel blessed to play here at Shorter! It was one of the best decision I made. I think it's great to be a part of a new program that I can help prove to the rest of the conference that we can and will compete with the best teams."
Follow Perrin on Twitter, @mikeperrin27. Email comments to: mikeperrin27@gmail.com.
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2016-17 GSC Friday Features
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9/16/2016 - UWF's Rookie Program Gets Boost From Veteran QB.
9/23/2016 - Hall of Famer Kuhns Excited to be Back at Valdosta State.
9/30/2016 - FIT Football's Quick Rise Leads to Poll Position.
10/07/2016 - Evans Brings His Talents South - And UNA is Glad He Did.
10/14/2016 - Wilkes Doing What She Does Best for Union Soccer.
10/21/2016 - Shorter's Dowd Takes Lessons From Big Family to Volleyball Stardom.
10/28/2016 - No Goals, No Problem, for MC Men's Soccer.
11/04/2016 - UWG's Armah Plays Both Ways to Give Wolves Boost.
11/11/2016 - Delta State's Robinson in Hill Trophy Discussion.
11/18/2016 - Basketball is Family Affair for UAH's Seab Webster.
11/25/2016 - UWF Women's Soccer Returns to National Stage.
12/02/2016 - Jacob Tucker Sits, Then Stars as UNA's Quarterback.
12/09/2016 - Energy Sparks Fiery Start for Lee's Cheeks.
12/16/2016 - Beau Justice Follows Big Brother South and Valdosta State Profits.
12/23/2016 - Young Guns Key Christian Brothers' Early Hoops Success.
12/30/2016 - UWA's Bullock and Taylor Compete in Two Sports They Love.
1/06/2016 - Union Women Succeed Through Growing Pains.
