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| Olive Branch (MS) High School class of 2017 point guard Myah Taylor, one of the top players in the nation in her class, participated in the Mississippi State camp Friday. |
Taylor explained why she and her teammates camp at college team camps during the summer months.
"We are still young and trying to mature faster and coming to a team camp just helps us as a team and individually," said Taylor.
It also helps her individually, especially when it comes to learning her teammates.
"It helps me learn my teammates better, learn what passes that they can catch and what each player can do individually," said Taylor.
Olive Branch High School head girls basketball coach Blake Jones has been coaching Taylor for the past two seasons. He attributes her success to her amazing work ethic.
"The reason she is where she is today is due to her work ethic," said Jones. "She is relentless as far as her work ethic is concerned. You can't push her too hard. She either is in the gym at practice or in the gym early in the morning at 6 am or she is with her personal trainer (Scott Mason)."
Even before he had a chance to coach her he saw that work ethic.
"When she was in middle school her dad would call me and tell me that they needed to get into the gym," said Jones.
Jones also gives credit to Taylor's family for helping her get to where she is today.
"She also has a great family background," said Jones. "Her parents and I have a great relationship. I also think of her as a daughter, just as I do with all the girls on my team."
Taylor gives her personal trainer credit for a lot of her success.
"Scotty Mason is my personal trainer and he has helped me tremendously," said Taylor. "Ever since I first found out that I could play basketball and that I loved the game, he was the one that helped me when I couldn't even handle the ball, couldn't shoot, couldn't do anything. He's helped me since the 7th grade. I work with him five days a week, probably three hours a day."
Although Taylor is very good at the game of basketball, Coach Jones realizes that she still has work to do to be the player that she can be.
"She probably still needs to work a little bit on her decision-making on the court," said Jones. "She's trying to do a few things that she will be capable of doing in the future but due to her maturing so fast she thinks that she can do them right now.
"She also needs to continue to build her strength. Getting in the weight room the next couple of years will be very important for her. She still needs to gain a little more weight to play on this level and the next level. She's already SEC-ready as far as talent."
As you would expect, college coaches are already heavily recruiting the talented point guard.
"Southern Miss, University of Memphis, Mississippi State, Baylor University and Jackson State have offered," said Taylor.
In addition to her five offers she also has a large number of colleges showing strong interest in her.
"Other schools that are recruiting her are Vanderbilt, South Carolina, LSU, Missouri, Arizona, Wake Forest, Louisville, Arkansas State and Ole Miss," said her dad, John Taylor, a former point guard himself at Jackson State University.
Despite all the attention and offers from college coaches, Taylor is not taking anything for granted.
"It doesn't matter what school that I'm being recruited by, I still have to go out there and work hard and play each game like it's my last," she said.
This past season, Taylor averaged 13.7 points, 6.2 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 5.2 steals per game.
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