Woody Taylor has been added to the Salem International University staff as the Associate Head Coach.
Woody Taylor joins the Tigers after a three year coaching stint at Division I Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. He began as a graduate assistant in 2013 under head coach Tom Herrion and resumed responsibilities in 2014, under head coach Dan D’Antoni. His main responsibilities included developing scouting reports, film breakdown, on campus recruiting, and player development.
With a strong base in player development, he was instrumental in the growth of Kareem Canty who finished on the 3rd team All Conference USA in 2014, and was a C-USA All freshman selection in 2014, Ryan Taylor who was also on the C-USA All freshman team in 2014, and 3rd Team All C-USA in 2015, and now professional player James Kelly who was 1st team All C-USA 2016, and C-USA Newcomer of the year in 2016.
Taylor was promoted to interim assistant during the 2015-2016 season as well. In this time, he developed & presented scouting reports, assisted with in game adjustments, helped coordinate practices, and assumed further recruitment responsibilities. Taylor saw the program go from 11 wins in his first two seasons to 17 wins in his final season with The Herd. Marshall finished tied for 3rd in C-USA with a 12-6 record in conference, their highest finish in the last 4 years. Additionally, The Herd finished tied for 2nd in the country in scoring with 86 points per game and 1st in the conference in scoring at 92 points per game while running the D’Antoni up-tempo offense. Coach Taylor assisted in helping The Herd shatter school records in points scored (2,838) and 3pt field goals made (332) during the 2015-2016 season.
Prior to beginning his coaching career, Woody was a standout player for Division II Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida from 2009-2013. In his time at Eckerd, he was a three year starter at the point guard position where he led his team to three consecutive 20 win seasons and back to back NCAA national tournament appearances his junior and senior year. Taylor left his mark at Eckerd finishing 5th in games played, 7th in free throw percentage, 6th in assists, and 7th in steals for his career.
