The Legend of Jack Taylor and his 138 point game

            Jack Taylor deserves a bust in the College Basketball Hall of Fame right next to the Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, and I mean that. So what if he plays for division III Grinnell College? So what if his team's philosophy is to get a shot up within 12 seconds after crossing half court? And so what if he took 71 shots from behind the 3 point arc? The guy still scored 138 points. Not 38 points, which would be a great game by anyone's standards, he scored 138 points. Anyone who has played some level of competitive basketball can understand how ludicrous that number is.
           I don't care if you are being covered by your grandmother, making 27 3's and a total of 52 shots in 36 minutes of playing time is unbelievable. It's one of those, "you have to see it to believe it" moments. How many times have you heard Kobe call a division III college basketball player "impressive", let alone a division 1 player. Fellow superstars Kevin Durant and Lebron James shared the same sentiment. The best players in the world understand the gravity of Taylor's accomplishment and still respect him even though he wouldn't last a minute on an NBA floor. I mean, the guy had such an amazing game that we aren't even talking about the opposing player, David Larson, who scored 70 points in the same contest. I doubt that kid ever thought he would score 70 points in a college game, let alone be ignored for his efforts after the fact.
          Jack Taylor is a phenomenon of David Tyree proportions. A one hit wonder who will quickly fade into the shadows after a moment of absolute glory. But does he care? Probably not, because he didn't just have the game of a lifetime, he had the game of a generation. Jack Taylor put Grinnell College on the map. Jack Taylor put Jack Taylor on the map. Long after people forget his name, his brilliant performance will live on in basketball folklore. I can see it now, 30 years in the future, I will be sitting with my son watching a college basketball game, and some guy will go off for 60 points. The announcers will reference the 138 point man, and I will gladly tell my kid about the legend of Jack Taylor. Thank God for youtube, I could watch this over and over again.