Back on March 7, Isaiah Taylor thought he possibly played his last competitive basketball game when Clark University was defeated by Keene State in the first round of the NCAA Division 3 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Six months later, the Methuen resident has found a new home … in Ireland.
Recently, Taylor — who now ranks second all-time in defensive steals and fourth all-time in career assists while at Clark – signed to play professionally with Ireland’s Maree Basketball Club in the Men’s Domino Division One League.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity. I’ve dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player my whole life, and now it’s finally here,” he said. “My goals are to win a championship and continue growing as a player.”
A six-foot guard, Taylor first surpassed the 1,000-point career in high school at Lowell Catholic under now Lawrence head coach Mike Isola. From there, he enjoyed a terrific career at Clark, again surpassing the four digit mark (finishing with 1,412 points, 14.7 ppg), along with career totals of 355 assists and 231 steals.
Taylor was named the NEWMAC Rooke of the Year as a freshman, which included ranking third in the country with 3.5 steals per game. In addition to that, he was named a NEWMAC first team all-star as a junior, and to the second team in the other three seasons.
Now he’s hoping to add to those career totals and accolades as a professional.
“The opportunity came through a good friend of mine, Manny Payton, who began his career in Ireland. One of his former teammates had recently been hired as the coach of Maree and was looking for a player like me, so the timing worked out perfectly,” said Taylor. “My contract runs from September to April, and the team is already in training camp.”
Taylor said that this will be his first time visiting Ireland.
“I’m looking forward to learning about the culture and exploring the vibrant city of Galway,” he said.