Taylor Makes The Most of His Second Chance

Missouri Guard's Perseverance Pays Off

GLENDALE, Ariz., March 27 -- Amid the blur of Missouri players scrambling around the University of Phoenix Stadium basketball court Saturday will be Zaire Taylor, a starting guard whose journey might be as improbable as his team's run to the West Region final.

Over the past two years, the 22-year-old with scruffy facial hair and an old soul has faced personal heartbreak and brief uncertainty about a roof over his head, making him question whether his perseverance would ever amount to another opportunity in Division I basketball, much less a chance to reach the Final Four.

"In life, you can't be ashamed of any of your experiences," Taylor said. "Everything that I have done and went through made me the man that I am."

On Friday, Taylor sat before a handful of reporters and talked as openly about his two game-winning baskets this season -- against Texas and Kansas -- as he did about not having a place to live for a three-week period two summers ago as he tried to get enough credits to transfer to Missouri from Delaware. He talked about maturity and forgiveness, offering perspective that belies his age.

"That's the beauty of Zaire Taylor," said Melvin Watkins, the Missouri associate head coach who has taken a personal interest in Taylor. "If you talk to him, he thinks he is a philosopher."

Watkins added that from "where he has come from to where he is now is a remarkable story. He is one of the players that kids around campus have embraced."

Three years before Taylor was a key component in Missouri's "fastest 40 minutes in basketball," the Staten Island, N.Y., native was a freshman under Coach Dave Henderson at Delaware. He led the Colonial Athletic Association in steals per game and ranked among the leaders in assists.

But a coaching change led to Taylor's departure from the team the following season. Taylor played in 14 games as a sophomore during the 2006-07 season but left the team because he did not see eye to eye with the new coach, Monté Ross.

Taylor needed to stay at Delaware to get enough academic credits to make sure he was eligible to transfer. Having lost his scholarship, though, he encountered problems. He watched his roommate depart in the summer, leaving Taylor with outstanding rent on his apartment.

He could not pay it and said he was evicted, which left him displaced for nearly three weeks. He gave his mother, Vicky, only a general sense of his situation because he did not want to give her reason to make him return home and give up on his dream to transfer.

"I was not necessarily broke," Taylor said. "I just didn't necessarily have an official house."

With no place to go, Taylor turned to friends, who often let him stay at their places. He recalled four nights when he did not know where he would sleep. Two or three times, Taylor said, he slept in a chair in a 24-hour computer lab.