Assistant men’s basketball coach Benjy Taylor has resigned his position at Southeast Missouri State.

Head Coach Rick Ray hired Taylor in January, in the midst of the 2015-16 campaign. Taylor wishes to move closer to his family who currently reside in Hawai’i. He has three sons, Tyler, Otto III and Ostin, and a daughter, Olive.

Taylor remarked, “I would like to thank Coach Ray and the rest of the Southeast Missouri State family for welcoming me with open arms. I was blessed to have the opportunity to work for one of the brightest coaches in college basketball in Coach Ray. For family reasons I have decided to move on so that I can be closer to my kids. I am confident that Southeast basketball is trending in the right direction with the returning players and the new influx of players. I wish the Redhawks all the best.”

Taylor came to Southeast following a stint as the interim head coach at the University of Hawai’i during the 2014-15 season. He was with the Rainbow Warriors for five seasons. He boasts more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience with a pair of head coaching stints.

“Benjy replaced me when I left Indiana State to go to Northern Illinois, so I have known him for a long time,” Ray said. “When someone in any industry is making a career decision to enrich their family life, I applaud that choice. Benjy did a terrific job for us in his time here and our program is better because of his involvement. I feel I have two strong assistants in Chris Moore and Adam Gordon and a very strong Director of Operations in Nick Lagroone. I am always prepared for a contingency plan when it comes to staff, so I will have a very capable replacement in the fold shortly.”

http://www.gosoutheast.com/news/2016/6/27/taylor-departs-mens-basketball-staff.aspx