The moment Dedrique Taylor realized what kind of special team he had at his disposal this year came after a five-game losing streak and well in the middle of an eight-game winning streak. Both of which bear testament to the kind of basketball Nirvana he achieved as a coach this season.
It came during a game with the team that eventually ended an eight-game winning streak that brought the Titans to the cusp of their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. That UC Santa Barbara ended Cal State Fullerton’s run one game short of a return trip to the NCAA Tournament — which would have been Taylor’s third since 2018 (not counting the pandemic-ended 2020 season) — was notable only because of the opponent.
Yet the fact there are no coincidences in life wasn’t lost on Taylor. Understanding your ceaseless efforts to get your team to buy into what you’re teaching paid off with interest can transpire at any time. That it transpired against the eventual conference tournament champions came with a byproduct that Taylor said defined this year’s Titans.
“I noticed a lot of the key elements were present when we played Santa Barbara up there. We had our way with them,” Taylor said. “I could feel the energy. I could feel the togetherness of our ballclub. The pace from an offensive standpoint was really, really fast. The ball was on the floor, it went into someone’s hands and it went into the hole. We could really mess around with people. …
“Those elements: our ball movement was at a premium, our decision-making was at a premium. These guys were able to digest our scouting reports and execute the details they needed to move forward. I noticed it in that game. I’m trying to call a play and they’re already gone. They’re gone. They know the only reason I want to call a play was to ensure we’re all on the same page. But they already communicated to each other. They already knew what they wanted to do, and they would go and execute. It’s an…
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