January 29, 2006 - Euro Trip - By Mark Eckel (Trenton Times)
Euro Trip
Robert Taylor grew up in Philadelphia, played some of his high school basketball in South Jersey, then spent four years at Rider University, where he helped the Broncs to a share of the MAAC title his senior year.
It was one thing for Taylor to make the trip across the Walt Whitman Bridge. It was another to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Taylor, who graduated from Rider last year, is one of seven former area basketball players currently playing professionally in Europe.
And he's enjoying it, like he never dreamed he would.
"I think I found my niche," Taylor, who is playing in the Ireland Super League South for a team called Burger King Limerick, said in a phone conversation last week. "I found something I really, really like. People here tell me I have a future for them, and I think I do. I'm going to stick. I plan to be here for a long time."
Taylor, in his first season in the top Irish League, has been dominating the competition. As of last week, the 6-foot-3 guard was shooting 52 percent from the floor and averaging 24.3 points, 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game. He scored 22 points, including the final five of the game, as his team won the semifinals of the Irish Cup, 70-63, to advance to today's final against the UCC Demons. And he had 31 this past Sunday in a 91-89 win over Neptune.
"A lot of hard work over the summer," Taylor says in response to his impressive numbers. "That, and all I do is work out and play ball. This is a full-time job. There's no more school, no classes all day. This is what I do, so I'm trying to do it my best."
Like any city kid - or any American kid, for that matter - Taylor had some reservations when Rider interim head coach Tommy Dempsey laid the groundwork for the deal that sent him across the Atlantic.
"Sure, I was a little hesitant at first," Taylor said. "I really had to think about it. I'm real close to my family. In college, I was just about 45 minutes away from home. That was important to me. Now, you're talking about going around the world. I talked it over with my family, my coaches, and I decided I would give it a shot. I figured if I really didn't like it, I could always quit and come home and go from there."
That has not been the case - not even a little bit.
"I have to admit, I love it here," Taylor said. "I'm really enjoying myself."
Taylor also admitted he misses his family and friends, but hoped that some who promised they would be there for today's Cup final made the trip.
"They said they're coming," Taylor said. "I hope they do."
There also have been some other annoyances, but nothing he can't handle. Actually, they might have helped him.
"It rains all the time," he said. "So that means there's nothing to do, so I just work out more and play more. I feel like I'm in the gym all the time."
And then there's the cuisine. If you haven't noticed many Irish cookbooks in your travels, there's a reason for that.
"The food isn't very good; it's a lot different than what I'm used to eating," Taylor said. "But I've been eating a lot healthier since I've been here, so maybe that's a good thing."
According to some NBA scouts who watch the European game on a regular basis, the Irish league isn't considered as top-notch as some of the other European leagues that consistently have fed the NBA with lottery picks the past few drafts.
Taylor, however, says the play in the league is good, as good as he saw in four years of Division I play with the Broncs.
"It's more physical and the refs let a lot go," he said. "That was the first thing I had to get used to over here. It's hard to compare how we are against teams from back home. I guess I would say we're a good Division I team, as good as some of the better teams we played against every year at Rider. It's real competitive, too. Every team gives you a game."
Taylor's backcourt mate for four years at Rider, Jerry Johnson, the second all-time leading scorer in Broncs history, also is playing well in Europe.
Johnson, a 5-11 guard, is playing for Polpharma Starogard of the Poland Dominet Basket Ligo, the top league in Poland.
A 2,000-point scorer in college, Johnson is shooting 50 percent from the floor, a team high 85.7 percent from the foul line, and leads his second-place team in scoring (19.1 points per game) and assists (4.9).
Three other former Rider players - Mario Porter, Robert Reed and Jon McClark - have been in Europe for a few years and are having good seasons again this year.
Porter, Rider's third all-time leading scorer behind Johnson and Darrick Suber, is playing for SPO Rowan in the France A League. While his team is struggling with just two wins in its first 17 games, Porter is coming off the bench to average 8.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
Reed, a native of England, is playing for the second-place DMU Leicester City Riders of the BBL, the top league in the United Kingdom.
The 6-11 center is averaging just under a double-double, with 9.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
McClark, one of Rider's all-time rebound leaders, is playing for Aix-Maurienne Savoie in the France B League. The 6-7 power forward is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 7.6 per game. He also is shooting 55 percent from the floor.
NOTE: Contact Mark Eckel at meckel@njtimes.com.
