Taylor takes on bigger role for Central Dutch

INDIANOLA — Colby Taylor has gone from a freshman role player on a conference championship team that played in the Division III national tournament, to a sophomore on a rebuilding squad with a big target on his back.

Still, the former Creston prep is off to a successful start in his second season with the Central College Dutch.

On Wednesday night in Indianola, in front of a large contingent of friends and family from home, it seemed like less of a road game for Taylor as he and the Dutch rolled to a 74-58 victory over Simpson at the Storm’s Cowles Fieldhouse.

Taylor, coming off the bench because of disciplinary action related to a technical foul late in an overtime loss to league co-leader Coe last week, spent 30 minutes on the court Wednesday and provided 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists. When he left with 1:56 left, the Dutch were in command, 70-48.

In Taylor’s defense, coach Craig Douma said the Coe incident was an unusual occurrence and not typical of Taylor’s leadership on this year’s squad.

“Hey, he just got a little excited after scoring and getting fouled, and got in a guy’s face a little bit,” Douma said. “That’s not really Colby at all. But it ended up being costly and he didn’t start for us tonight. It was a teaching moment for us, a learning situation for him.”

It was a big victory if Central is to make another conference tournament run this year. Going in, Central was in a three-game losing slump and had fallen to a fifth-place tie with Loras at 2-4, and 9-8 overall. Only six of the eight teams qualify for the league tournament, which is part of the national tournament qualifying process.

After Wednesday, the Dutch are now lodged in a three-way tie for fourth place with Wartburg and Loras at 3-4. Buena Vista and Coe are tied at the top at 6-1, while Dubuque is 4-3 in third place. It’s still very tight, and Taylor said the league tournament should be closely contested.

“We just have to get in the conference tournament,” Taylor said. “Then everyone in the conference is so even, we can get some wins. Coe was first in the conference and we took them to overtime last time.”

Douma, brother of Creston girls basketball coach Brent Douma, hopes Wednesday’s game is a springboard for his squad that had to replace two key scorers from last year’s national tourney run.

“This was a great win,” he said. “We had a balanced attack. We were sharing the ball and playing great defense. We think five (conference) wins will secure a spot in the tournament, so we really need a couple more. My goal is to get more than a .500 record in the conference. If we do that, that would be a great way to finish in February for us.”

Taylor has taken on a much bigger role this year for the Dutch. Entering Wednesday’s game, he led the team in four statistical categories and was averaging a double-double at 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He also averages 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals, alternating between a wing and high post positions, depending on the matchup and who’s in the game for Central.

Twice already this season, Taylor has been named Iowa Conference Player of the Week. He scored 30 points with 15 rebounds against Dubuque and 29 points, (6-of-10 on threes), six assist and five rebounds in the next game, a 92-89 win over Luther. Nile Eckermann has also scored above 20 points several times and is another 3-point shooting threat.

“Colby is getting extra attention from the teams now,” Douma said. “Early on they were giving him great looks. That’s tougher to come by now as they’ve scouted and seen what he’s done for us. He’s playing the three and four spots for us, which allows him to roll down if he has a mismatch, mix in his inside and outside game. He’s knocked down some big shots for us and been a great rebounder.”

Taylor was in a walking boot for several weeks last summer after injuring an ankle in a pickup game in Creston. He used the idle time on the court to lift weights and prepare for the more physical nature of college basketball.

The 6-6 guard with a good shooting touch now weighs between 185 and 190 pounds and can establish post-ups when necessary.

“In high school, there wasn’t much to him physically,” Douma said. “I wasn’t even sure if he’d be ready! He had a lot of great players around him last year, and that helped. This year he is a primary option and he’s prepared for it. He’s continued to mature and get better as the year goes on.”

“When I had the hurt foot, I was on crutches for more than four weeks and I used that time to build up my upper body,” Taylor said. “I put on about 15 pounds. It helps against the contact and stuff like that. It gives me a lot more confidence in those situations.”

After Wednesday’s game, Taylor mingled with former teammates and Simpson students Luke Neitzel, Caleb Thompson, Kainen Somers and Trey Thomsen, along with several family members and friends who attended the game.

“That was pretty nice,” he said. “It kind of felt like I was back in Creston, with my own cheering section over there.”

Douma, who also coached 2014 Central graduate Spencer Bakerink of Creston at Central, is thankful for the time left with Taylor on his team.

“Hey, we love that Creston connection,” Douma said. “Colby plays like a veteran now. He plays like a leader, and our team looks to him to be a leader on the floor. What’s great about that is that we have him for two more years!”

Central plays a key game at Buena Vista at 6 p.m. Saturday in Storm Lake. BV has three former Hawkeye 10 players in Cole Darrow of Glenwood, Jarod Juhl and Adam Juhl from Harlan.