By By Matthew Nascone
The road to the next level can be tricky for some people and Escambia County High School senior Frank Taylor can attest to that fact. On Friday Taylor signed on the dotted line to play for the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Saints next year, but the road was not easy.
Taylor had 10-15 colleges looking at him throughout his final high school season, but ECHS head coach Jerome Antone said the road got tough when one factor hit Taylor hard.
"The ACT and the SAT got Frank," Antone said. "But that did not keep him from continuing to work hard. And he told me he will start at the community college and get his grades better so he can get into a big school."
And Taylor didn't seem to mind Antone releasing all this information to the crowd gathered for the annual ECHS basketball banquet because Antone has a special place in his heart.
"The person who had the most influence on me in sports was coach Antone," Taylor said. "He pushed me to work hard at practice and he stayed on me."
And Antone said he could not be happier for Taylor.
"I am so happy for Frank," Antone said. "And what I am hoping he accomplishes is to get a good education. I know he will do a tremendous job in that aspect."
With Antone's dedication to Taylor the senior averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game in 2006-07. And Tracie Taylor, Frank's mother, saw the benefits of all the hard work. But she has mixed feelings about her son going to college.
"I am very excited, but I am partially sad because he is my only son," Tracie Taylor said. "But it is time for him to grow up I guess. And his stepfather, James Peoples, was not able to be here today, but he wishes Frank the best of luck."
And LBW head coach Ricky Knight is glad Tracie is able to let her boy go because he said his team needs a shooter like Frank.
"We need somebody who can shoot the basketball," Knight said. "Last year we were good, but we needed somebody to score consistently. We think he can do that."
Taylor said he had multiple reasons for choosing LBW over the other schools that were interested in him.
"I liked everything about the school," he said. "It has good financial support, a free apartment and their gym is top notch."
The former Blue Devil will change shades of blue and become a Saint next season. And he wants to stay in blue for a little while after that if he can.
"I have no specific place in mind (after my two years at LBW), but I'd like to go to Duke University because it's my favorite college," Taylor said.