Eagles great JT sees exciting things for 2024 team

Fairytales are rare in sport but John Taylor got the dream finish to his SBL career and now is loving the chance to be helping the East Perth Eagles team of 2024 chase that NBL1 West glory 10 years later.

Nobody has ever lived and breathed for East Perth more than Taylor and it started with him first pulling on the red, blue and white colours as a 12-year-old and his passion for the club remains just as strong to this day.

That is why he wanted to get back involved on the coaching staff in 2024 and why he is so excited to see his son starting to play in under-10s, but it's also a 10-year anniversary to what was a dream ending to his 262-game SBL playing career.

When Taylor started his SBL career in 2004, the Eagles were a long way from being a championship contender and winning that elusive first title since the competition was formed in 1989 was a far away dream.

However, they had a taste of it by reaching a Grand Final in 2012 before losing to the Cockburn Cougars and then were back in the hunt with a star-studded team in 2014 led by current Cairns Taipans NBL coach Adam Forde.

Taylor knew it was always going to be his last season with his body telling him time was up, but what he got was the finish to his career that usually only happens when you close your eyes and enter dreamland.

Not only did Taylor get to finish his career by winning that championship with the Eagles, but he came on to hit the last shot of the game so not only did his playing days end with a title, he knocked down his very last shot too.

This team of 2024

While that is a remarkable memory to end Taylor's career that will last him a lifetime, it has been tough going for the most part for the Eagles ever since 2014 which even included a five-year absence from Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

They are back now with the newly built Peter Campbell Basketball Arena providing a spectacular new home, and the team on the court in 2024 is something Taylor couldn’t be enjoying more being part of.

It includes his championship winning teammate Sunday Dech, 2017 Grand Final MVP Lee Roberts when he was at the Perth Redbacks, young gun David Okwera, terrific point Taylor Young and then including a tremendous support cast.

Following Friday night's win at home and ahead of Sunday night's match up with the Goldfields Giants in Kalgoorlie as part of Heritage Round, the Eagles now sit at 7-5 on the season with Taylor seeing great potential for the rest of 2024.

"All the pieces seem to be there, the team is gelling together and having Sunday come back who was part of that championship team 10 years ago has seen him bring a lot to the table," Taylor said.

"Obviously knocking Geraldton off in Geraldton shows what we are capable of and that the talent is there, and I think it's a possibility. Our goal is obviously to win a championship this year and I think we're definitely capable for sure."

Fairytale finish with that championship

For so many reasons when Taylor reflects on that championship triumph of 10 years ago at the Eagles and it still gives him goosebumps and brings a huge smile to his face.

Whether it was the fact that the Eagles were so far from being a championship team when he started his career, or the pain of losing in 2012 or knowing it was going to be his last game, everything just came together to create one of his life's great highlights.

Not only to win a championship, but to have the crowd chanting for his entrance into the game with the win over the Geraldton Buccaneers sewn up, and then to come on and hit that three-point shot – there's no other way to describe it than a fairytale.

"I guess my memories of it are that it was the back end of my career. I played from 2004 to 2014 so that Grand Final obviously was my last game and I knew it was going to be my last game, I had told the team that it was going to be," Taylor said.

"It was amazing to be part of and back when I started, you would have laughed if you said East Perth would even play in a Grand Final. And two years prior it didn’t go our way but we did get there and then to get another opportunity was amazing.

"What sticks out is that I remember in the last minute our crowd was chanting 'We Want JT' and that was pretty crazy. I turned to Fordey and asked if I could sub on and he put me straight out there.

"I went on for Kyle Armour and then Joe-Alan had the ball and was bringing it up, and I knew it was the last possession. I knew he was going to pass it to me and I knew I was going to shoot it obviously, and as soon as it left my hand I knew it was going in.

"It just felt so good and the first thing I said to my wife when she came down to the court was that there was no chance of a comeback now. It couldn’t get better than that winning a championship in your last game and hitting your last shot."

The championship bond

Whether it's Sunday Dech who is back playing at the Eagles, Mathiang Muo or Kyle Armour who are still playing at rival clubs, Joe-Alan Tupaea who is back helping the women's coaching staff, Taylor has great memories of all those championship teammates.

There's always that natural bond anytime he still bumps into Austin Kisselev, Drew Williamson, Jamie Barnett, Nikola Donlagic and Tom Jervis as well.

That connection he has is something Taylor is making sure the team of 2024 understands what is there for the offering in their future too.

"To bring East Perth their first championship as a group in the SBL is something I will cherish for the rest of my life, it's so special," he said.

"This year the message we are trying to give the boys is that I still see people from that team still playing in the league and when you see them you have that bond that will last forever."

Getting back involved in coaching

If anyone ever felt like they would be a natural to move into coaching following their playing career then it would be Taylor.

He certainly had that desire to get involved as a coach too and did spend time as part of the coaching staff in the years after retiring, including being a caretaker in charge for the latter part of the 2019 season.

However, he took a break to spend more time with his young family following that, but the itch was there and a conversation with current head coach Carl Filpo led to his involvement again in 2024.

"I'm absolutely loving it. It's been great working with Carl and we had a chat towards the end of last year and I had been away from the NBL1 or SBL scene for a few years," Taylor said.

"My kids were young and they are a little bit older now so it felt like a good time to get back involved. So I approached Carl to tell him I was happy being involved and it started off just with Carl wanting me to come talk about the championship 10 years ago.

"From that conversation with the guys, we talked about coaching and I was excited to get back involved. Now throughout this season it's been awesome to be in that team environment again and just helping and supporting the boys where I can. I try to share some insights where I think I can help and it's been good."

Coming back to scratch coaching itch

Quite simply, Taylor has too much basketball knowledge, experience and passion to not pass it on to the next generation of players, and nobody can impart their love of the Eagles to the modern players than him either.

He just knew that he wanted to get back involved in coaching at some point and 2024 felt like the perfect time.

"I just love the game of basketball. I played at East Perth since under-12s development so I just love the game and as soon as school finished I was straight to the park shooting hoops," he said.

"Now having been out of it for a few years, the itch has always been there and that was part of the reason why I approached Carl.

"I'm so glad to be able to do it and it's been really good for myself and my son comes to watch the games now as well, and he's really enjoying supporting the team and meeting all the guys on the team.

"I think it was always in my path and I knew that coaching was something I wanted to explore more, and now it just feels like the right time."

Sharing passion for Eagles with son

The other great bonus of coming back to coaching with his children now getting to an age where they can start playing themselves, but also get involved and see their dad as part of the team which is something that means the world to Taylor.

"My son obviously never saw me play at the SBL level but he has seen me run around some local courts, but he's playing under-10s at the moment down at the local East Perth comp," Taylor said.

"I think he's starting to realise that I know a lot of people at the club and he sees me talking to a lot of current players, ex-players and coaches, and he is starting to get an idea that East Perth is part of the family blood I guess."

Creation of Peter Campbell Basketball Arena

Taylor has spent his basketball life playing and coaching for the most part with the Eagles based out of Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

He'll always have remarkable memories of that old court he played so many games on, but to walk into the new Peter Campbell Basketball Arena now still has him shaking his head at just how good it is.

"I love what they have done with the place, it's amazing. I did go to a few games at Herb Graham and it just didn’t feel like it was East Perth's home," Taylor said.

"Morley will always feel like home and even at training now I walk past Court 1 and memories come flooding back, and to me that's thinking of those SBL days.

"Now with the new branding of NBL1 West, you walk through to Court 5 and how far the place has come, but also the whole league in terms of promotion, the signage on the courts, the streaming and everything to go with it, it's all at another level.

"I tell the guys that they are so blessed to be playing now because it's so much more professional and is getting so much more exposure than when we played. It's still East Perth with that same soul of a club, but everything is just next level and it's great to see how far it's come."

Best season of career when you reflect

While Taylor's career was winding down by that 2014 championship, there were times earlier in his 262-game career with the Eagles where he was one of the more lethal players across the SBL competition.

That included what he ranks as his best season in 2007 when he was putting up 20.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game while shooting at 48.8 per cent from the field and 39.8 per cent from three-point territory while hitting 49 three-pointers across the 24 games.

While Taylor is proud to reflect and know that he could certainly play the game, it was always about much more than just individual performance for him.

"It was probably around that 2007 and 2008 mark where I had my best seasons. It was probably especially in 2007 where everything was clicking, I was shooting really well and in terms of personal seasons, that was really exciting to be playing that well," Taylor said.

"I also got the chance to travel to Melbourne when they had a showcase game for some young players so that was pretty exciting, and things were just clicking. I guess for me after that there were a few untimely injuries that crept in.

"Things just weren’t as professional as they are now so we didn't have a physio and I probably didn’t get the treatment I wish I could have had, and sometimes you don't come back from injuries the same as you were.

"But for me I knew my value wasn’t just in my numbers, it was in being the best teammate I could possibly be.

"Even when I took a reserve spot in the later years, being able to mentor someone like Sunday when he was coming up is something we speak about now, and it was such a pleasure to see his growth and look at where he is now. I took as much joy in that sort of thing as much as when I was playing well personally."