Cornelius F. "Jay" Taylor Jr. (October 3, 1967 – July 4, 1998) was an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player.
Taylor, a guard from
East Aurora High School
East Aurora High School, (also known as EAHS or Aurora East High School), is a public, four-year high school located in Kane County, at the corner of Smith Boulevard and Fifth Avenue in Aurora, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. ...
in
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...
, played college basketball at
Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...
. He finished his career with 1,926 points and graduated as EIU's all-time leading scorer (since passed by
Henry Domercant
Henry Domercant (born December 30, 1980) is an American and Bosnian-Herzegovinian professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Windy City Bulls in the NBA G League, the development team for the Chicago Bull ...
). In his senior year, he averaged 23.8 points per game and was named the 1989 The
Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year.
Following his college career, Taylor was not drafted in the
1989 NBA draft
The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...
. However, he made the
New Jersey Nets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
' roster and stuck with the team until December. He finished the season with the
Wichita Falls Texans
The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwest ...
of the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
(CBA). Taylor played for four more years in the CBA - with the
Grand Rapids Hoops
The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand ...
,
Rochester Renegade
The Rochester Renegade (later Rochester Renegades) were a professional basketball team based in Rochester, Minnesota. They played 2 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketbal ...
,
Oklahoma City Cavalry
The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...
and
Rockford Lightning
The Rockford Lightning was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association. They were based in Rockford, Illinois.
History
The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red Roses fro ...
.
Taylor died in a house fire on July 4, 1998. He was inducted into the Eastern Illinois University athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.
References
1967 births
1998 deaths
Basketball players from Illinois
Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball players
Grand Rapids Hoops players
New Jersey Nets players
Rochester Renegade players
Rockford Lightning players
Shooting guards
Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois
Undrafted National Basketball Association players
Wichita Falls Texans players
American men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines
Philippine Basketball Association imports
San Miguel Beermen players
Magnolia Hotshots players
Deaths from fire in the United States
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