Assistant Coach Tim Taylor: Beyond 40 Minutes

A Charlottesville, Virginia native, North Carolina women's basketball assistant coach Tim Taylor may be new to the Tar Heel program, but he's no stranger to the Atlantic Coast Conference or ACC women's basketball. A former high school boys basketball coach and women's basketball coach at both Furman and Virginia, Taylor is familiar with the prestige of the conference.

"I grew up an ACC fan ever since I was little," Taylor said. "I've been following the ACC for a long time. I feel that it's the best basketball conference in the country. I think it's a rabid fan base, up and down the ACC."

However, Taylor wasn't always set on becoming a coach. He earned his bachelor's degree from James Madison in political science and, later, his master's in educational administration.

"When I was 10," Taylor said, "I told my mom I wanted to win a national championship and she kind of scoffed at it. Then when I was 18 or 19, I said I would never coach. Now I've been coaching nearly every year for the last 30."

Throughout the years at the collegiate level, Taylor enjoyed three separate stints on staff at the University of Virginia. He spent time on Debbie Ryan's staff from 2000-05 as the recruiting coordinator, and as Ryan's associate head coach from 2009-12. Taylor also worked on Joanne Boyle's staff as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Taylor got his start at Furman with head coach Sherry Carter, helping the Paladins win the Southern Conference Tournament title in 2000.

"There was a time in the game when Sherry asked me to tell the team something," Taylor said. "After the game she asked me why I thought she asked me to tell them. She told me, 'You let your experts do what your experts know and what they're passionate about.' That's stuck with me for a long time. When someone is really good at something, you allow them to grow. That was an impactful moment for me working with her."

That motto has stuck with Taylor through the years. In addition to coaching women's basketball, he has spent time at the high school level as both a boys' basketball coach and a principal. He served as principal at William Wetsel Middle School in Madison, Va., from 2012-16. He led an impressive school-wide turnaround in moving the school out of improvement and into full accreditation and developing a remediation program that increased state test scores across all subjects by at least 20 percent, with an incredible 60 percent increase in math scores over four years.

"That was probably one of the best things I ever did professionally," Taylor said. "I learned how to manage people. We were able to turn around a school so that was pretty exciting. That was important for me because I have to be at an institution that values education. That's something I value, and I think education can change the world. Being at Furman, Virginia and now Carolina, they're all great academic institutions that fit me personally with what I believe."

Regardless of the age, for Taylor, coaching is an avenue to helping young people learn the ups and downs of life.

"It's not the wins," he said. "It's about the impact. Some of my greatest triumphs come from helping kids overcome difficulties in their lives. If you base a career on wins and losses, you miss the point of being a coach. To me, a lot of the wins I've had have been off the court as well."

With the Tar Heels' first game three weeks away, Taylor has already made an impact on the Carolina women's basketball program since arriving in May.

"It's been great," he said. "I've coached kids as young as 5 with my kids through 23-year-olds. You're always looking to impact and looking to help kids get better, and teach life skills through the game you're coaching. Because a basketball game is like life – you have ups and downs through 40 minutes."

The Tar Heels will play their first 40 minutes of the 2019-20 season against Western Carolina on Nov. 7 in Carmichael Arena.

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