HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — Jamal Taylor is a leader on the Hancock County bulldogs basketball team, a student athlete that led his team to a state title appearance for the first time since 2016.
“He’s been outstanding,” says head coach Rickey Chatman. “Jamal does a little bit of everything. He plays hard, he’s a good kid, and you couldn’t ask for much more. He’s just like a coach on the floor.”
Taylor is also the reigning Region 7A player of year and the team’s leading scorer, helping to compile a 28-3 record on the season, but he doesn’t like to say much, so he prefers you just watch how things unfold with him in action.
Taylor explains, “I have to lead by play. I’m very quiet, so I just go out and play and everybody follows.“
And when it comes to the books, Taylor has a 3.3 GPA to go along with his on the court stats.
Taylor’s assistant coach and teacher Christopher Davis says, “The main thing is he’s a great student. I have him in class and he’s a general on the floor.”
Taylor echoes, “School is very important. You’re not going to get into college without education. You have to strike hard in the classroom to get wherever you want to be.”
Wednesday night, Taylor hit the go-ahead basket with under 10 seconds left to seal the win for Hancock Central in an overtime win over Treutlen County, 61-58.
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