Past Articles
Honorable Mentions: RJ Walker, Seth Moan, Keegan Oyugi, Anthony DiLoreto, Bryce Williams
No. 10: Roland Owczarek
No. 9: Gunnar Ledin
No. 8: David Glover
No. 7: Chris Moore
No. 6: Josh Volness
No. 5: James Brown

ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. --- "I'll never forget the first time I got to watch [the] film of the team I was inheriting at Crown College," remembers coach Luke Herbert. "I pop in a VHS tape of a game from the previous season and within the first three minutes I see a player trip the other team's point guard, bodycheck somebody going for a loose ball, and literally tackle two players into a pile of other players. More remarkable still, he didn't get called for a foul on any of the plays!"

If you watched any Crown basketball from 2009-2013, chances are you saw Taylor Jones do something similar. What you also saw was a player who is unmatched for his toughness, competitiveness, basketball IQ, and ability to affect a game in every possible way. It was those qualities, and not, by his own admissions, his size or athleticism, that helped him to achieve what he did as a college basketball player.  

Jones began his collegiate career at Crown after a year at Minnesota State University Mankato, having not been recruited out of high school. Thinking of transferring, he initially looked into Northwestern College as a possibility and even attended a game on their camps. That game, against a severely undermanned Crown team who traveled with only seven active players, opened the door to the possibility of playing for the Storm.

After transferring to St. Bonifacius, Jones came off the bench for his first two games, then proceeded to start 98 straight over the next four years, placing him second all-time in both games played and starts. 

Playing primarily at the point guard position that first year, Jones averaged 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while chipping in 76 assists and an outstanding 52 steals. His 42.9% mark from three-point range that season stands as the single-season record.

A coaching change would take place that offseason, and with it, a change in play style that lined up perfectly with Jones skill set and highlighted his intangibles.

"After my first year at Crown there was a coaching change, I wasn't really sure what that meant in terms of basketball and actually considered leaving," said Jones. "After coach Herbert accepted the job he began calling the returners to see who was coming back and what he could do to ease the transition. We ended up bonding over slow-pitch softball and have been playing on the same team for many years. Coach Herbert and his staff implemented a motion offense that allowed us as basketball players to make reads and decisions that allowed us to be successful. We also applied a lot of pressure to try to change the outcome of games."

"Our style of play was a perfect fit for Taylor," says Herbert. "His basketball IQ is off the charts – I don't know that I've ever trusted a player more – and that showed in his passing and decision making in the half-court offensively. Defensively, his smarts and aggression more than made up for his lack of foot speed as he was instrumental to our pressing style of play."

Taking quickly to the new style of play on both ends, coupled with his production, earned Jones back to back UMAC Honorable Mention All-Conference nods in 2010-11 and 2011-12.  

While Taylor is most remembered for his leadership, he was a three-year captain, and the "intangibles" that cannot be measured statistically, he also put up some serious numbers over his career. As the first member of the NCAA-era 1,000 point club, Jones clocks in with 1,014 career points, good for sixth-best in that time frame with a matching sixth-best 317 field goals made.  

This list is about far more than points scored, however, and it was in other statistical areas that Jones separates himself. His 210 made threes and 38.8% career mark from deep both rank second all-time, as do his 300 career assists and 216 steals. A model of consistency and durability, Jones also racked up 2,994 career minutes, again, second-best all-time.  

As a three-point specialist, and standing at only 6'1, his 321 career rebounds (seventh-best) and 170 free throws made (sixth) speak to his toughness and physicality. His 82.9% career mark from the charity stripe is also a second-best mark on the career records list.  

To add some context to those statistical marks, it's important to note just how far ahead Taylor is in certain categories. Often, the numbers on this list don't vary much from position to position. The players ranking 4-6 on our top-10 list were so near each other in so many categories that we created an objective table to try to sort out their statistical impact.  

When it comes to Taylor's assists and steals, however, he is a huge distance ahead of the third-place finishers in each category. His 300 assists are 67 more than the third-best mark. For added context, 67 assists would be the 15th best single-season total for the program – such is the gap between Jones and the next closest player.

The number is even more ridiculous for steals. Jones recorded 216 career steals and the total for third place on the list is 118. That's 98 more steals than the third-best total! The seventh-best single-season total for steals is 44. The third-place player on the career steals list could do that for two consecutive seasons and STILL not catch Jones for second place.  

Jones also performed consistently season to season, with three of his four seasons appearing in the top ten for assists and all four of his campaigns being top ten for steals. Three of those seasons rank in the top five.

He also has top-ten statistical seasons for three-pointers made, three-point percentage (two), free throw percentage, and minutes played (two).

Most importantly to Taylor, the Storm won more games than the previous season in each of his four years at Crown.  

After graduating, Jones stayed on at Crown for three seasons as an assistant coach. Five of the other players on the top ten list played under Jones at some point during their career as he also completed two years as a graduate assistant for the Crown softball team, helping to turn that program around get them into the postseason.  

"Taylor is a fantastic coach," notes Inder Singh, who played with and coached Taylor. "He sees the game so well, which is not a surprise if you watched him play. He played a really big role in helping to develop some of the best players to come through our program."

For his part, Jones recalls numerous fantastic memories, both on and off the basketball court.  

"Some of my favorite memories of playing include buzzer-beaters against Northland and Finlandia, to tie those games at the end of regulation, and hitting the game-winning shot at the buzzer to beat Northwestern," says Jones. "Our final game my sophomore year, scoring 109 points in regulation at Bethany Lutheran, and our win over NCAA Division II Minnesota Crookston are also fantastic memories."

Jones valued his time off the court as well, counting his time living with teammates and preparing for a career as some of the best of his life.

"Playing college basketball was a dream of mine and I'm very thankful to Crown College and the men's basketball program for the experience I had. Being a part of a team, trying to build a program, learning about a relationship with Christ, and preparing for a career with my Christian brothers – I couldn't have asked for a better, more meaningful experience."

Today, Taylor teaches physical education and health at Glencoe-Silver Lake High School where he is the head varsity softball coach and C-squad boys basketball coach. He has also started a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group in the past two years. His wife Lexy is a full-time faculty member at Crown, where Taylor also teaches as an adjunct faculty member. The couple has two young sons and lives in nearby Mayer, Minnesota.  

"In many ways, Taylor is the standard for leadership and toughness in our program. His contributions on the court were immense, and he has only continued to make our program better as an assistant coach and an alumnus," says coach Herbert. "I've almost always considered Taylor as a peer more than a player, and I'm honored to call him a friend."