Benjy Taylor begins his second year with the Rainbow Warriors having been elevated to associate coach for the 2011-12 season. Taylor boasts more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, including a pair of head coaching stints.
As an assistant coach last year, Taylor helped guide UH to a 19-13 finish and an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. He will continue his duties of recruiting, scouting, scheduling and working with the team’s wing players, while now adding the duties of team travel, NCAA compliance and serving as a liaison to the program’s booster club.
Taylor has been a part of numerous NCAA and NIT squads, while coaching at eight different Division I programs, including the 2000-01 Pepperdine squad that went 22-9 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. Arnold and Taylor coached together on that staff.
Most recently, Taylor was the head coach at Chicago State for three years. During his tenure, he helped the Cougars achieve new heights in its Division I era, including the program’s first winning season in more than 23 years. The 2008-09 squad finished with a 19-13 season ledger and also finished the season ranked third nationally in scoring and steals. For his efforts, he captured Independent Division I Coach of the Year honors.
Prior to Chicago State, Taylor was an assistant coach at Tulane. In his second season at Tulane, Taylor helped the Green Wave compile a 17-13 overall record, including a top division finish, only one full season removed from the devastating after-effects of Hurricane Katrina.
After helping Pepperdine to an NIT appearance in 2001, Taylor landed his first head coaching stint at NCAA Division III North Central College in Naperville, Ill., where he guided the program for three seasons. It was Taylor’s second tour of duty in the state. Taylor was previously the associate head coach at Northern Illinois from 1995-2000, helping the Huskies reach the NCAA Tournament in 1996 after posting a 20-10 record.
Taylor has also served as an assistant coach at Cornell (1991-92) and The Citadel (1992-95) and Indiana State (2004-05).
As a player, Taylor was a four-year letterwinner with the University of Richmond (1985-89). His teams registered an 85-38 (.691) record during his career with two NCAA Tournament appearances (1986, ’88) and one NIT Tournament bid (1989). The 1988 Spider team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with upsets of Indiana and Georgia Tech in the NCAA Tournament.
Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree with a double major in criminal justice and sociology and remained with the Spiders as a graduate assistant coach, earning a master’s degree in sports management. During his two years as a graduate assistant coach at Richmond, he helped his alma mater to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. In the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tourney, Richmond upset Syracuse, the first time a 15-seed defeated a two-seed in NCAA Tournament history.
A native of Jacksonville, N.C., Taylor is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches as well as the Black Coaches Association. He is married to the former Wendy Fullman, and has three sons—Tyler (21), Otto III (11) and Ostin (8)—and a daughter, Olive (3).
