Travis Taylor's faith in his game has done a great deal for his career. His faith in God, well, is his life.
The Hemingway High School graduate and former South Carolina Mr. Basketball currently is a minister in Wilmington, N.C., at New Covenant Holiness Church while also continuing his dream in the hoops world. Just recently, Taylor popped up on television, competing against the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Brent Barry and J.R. Rider in the popular sports reality show "Pros Vs. Joes."
A little background on Taylor first:
Taylor played collegiately at Cape Fear Community College in North Carolina and later at Claflin University in Orangeburg. Taylor has played for several U.S.-based minor league pro basketball teams, including the the Wilmington Sea Dawgs of the ABA in 2008-09 - after going 13th overall in the draft. "We were pretty good. I suffered through some tendinitis in my knee that limited my playing time and play." After getting healthy, Taylor said he had a falling out with the coaching staff and knew he would be with the team for only that season. Taylor said after the season he received several overseas offers that he "consulted with my bishop and wife about that were very nice." Taylor said he nearly signed with a team in Russia before running into visa problems and electing to stay home and play for the ABA's Charlotte Crossovers. However, "as most ABA teams do when funding is not the way it should be, they folded." But opportunity presented itself shortly thereafter, when Taylor was invited to represent Team USA in the 23-and-under world championships in France. "That was a great experience. I was third on the team in scoring at 15 [points per game], nine [rebounds per game] and four [assists per game]. Upon coming home, I was contacted by a representative from the NBA stating that I have been selected to participate in the NBA D-League Pre Draft Camp in Chantilly, Va. I went, of course, [and] did well, [leading] my team in scoring and rebounding at around 15 [points per game and [10 rebounds per game]. Months later, I received the call that I am in the 2010 NBA D-League Draft. So currently my path to the NBA is set. God has made way and I will be getting drafted in the NBA D-League this November."
Amidst all of this, "Pros Vs. Joes" came calling.
Q&A: Travis Taylor playing the part as "Joe"
Q | How did the "Pros Vs. Joes" gig come about?
Travis | Pros vs. Joes was filmed I’ll say around March [after] I was contacted by this guy who is in the productionacting business. He told me they needed a tall contestent to be on and I said "yeah." It really wasn’t much to do ... just know that it's not real and a contract wasn’t coming from it. I decided to give my acting career a boost!
NOTE: I was unable to find the episode on Spike's website, where I had previously watched it. You may be able to get the episode free here: Fancast
Q | So, overall, what was the experience of playing on "Pros Vs. Joes" like?
Travis | It was OK, I guess. I was happy I was gonna be on national television, but the fact that I couldn’t really do what I want ate at me. But overall [its was a] great experience and Cali was nice.
Q | They titled the episode "Trash Talk Heard 'Round the World." At one point you called Hakeem Olajuwon a "Nightmare" and even yawned as the Pros came onto the court. Tell me a little about that and how it plays into the entertainment of the show via what actually can be a real part of basketball.
Travis |Well trash talking is in every game - basketball, baseball, football, you name it, it has trash talking in it. I can’t really go into too much detail on how much of the show is real and how much isn’t. I’ll tell you this: the fight was real; everything else I’ll leave to your imagination.
Q | You guys were referred to as perhaps the best Joes team they had ever had despite narrowly losing. What does that mean to you?
Travis | It really didn’t trigger in my mind like that because I knew the segway behind everything. It’s kind of a fiction show, it's entertainment [and] nothing more.
Q | Did you get to know any of the guys on your team or form any new friendships?
Travis | Well, that’s kind of a funny story. I was on another team but was switched off of it maybe five minutes before the game. I didn’t know them, didn’t talk with them prior or afterwards but they seem like pretty cool guys. I did keep in contact with one of my teammates on the first team I was on. We exchanged numbers and still talk today.
Q | Tell me about your experience with the Pros. What was it like going against Hakeem Olajuwon, in particular? And J.R. and Brent weren't exactly slouches either. Just talk about competing with and interacting with those guys.
Travis |There was nothing really said outside the show ... we didn’t see [the Pros] until game time and after the game was over I went back to my hotel room, texted my Bishop, called my wife and read my bible. Going up against Hakeem was cool, I guess. He is really 7foot, not a fabricated 7-footer. Off set wasn’t too much talking between us and them but when we did talk on pauses in filming on court he seemed pretty cool.
Q | Tell me how this experience affected you as you move forward and if you learned anything from it.
Travis | It showed me the business side to the TV world. I don’t believe nothing on TV now like reality shows and half the stuff that comes on TV. It changed my perspective on how things go on TV; behind the scenes of this TV show showed me a lot that I didn’t know. I kind of thought some things were real. Entertainment is entertainment and basketball is basketball.
Q | Aside from being on "Pros Vs. Joes," tell me something about yourself that many people would find interesting.
Travis | What's funny and what many people that don’t know me don’t know is that I preached my first sermon at the age of 13 at Unity Pentecostal Holiness Church in Kingstree. I then journeyed succuming to peer pressure and the hype of the whole Mr. Basketball player of the year stuff [and]I turned my heart away from God. But God being so forgiving and loving forgave me and allowed me to regain my place in the kingdom.
And perhaps a place in the NBA one of these days.
Even though we may make detours on this journey called life, God being so awesome and always extending his mercy has allowed you to continue to live out your dream. Only now you're all aboard with the plan in which he has laid out for you. Continued Success Bird
Posted by: Sabrina Singletary | 09/15/2010 at 04:58 PM