Mike Taylor is in his 18th season as a professional coach and was anmed head coach of the Hamburg Towers and also currently head coach of the Polish national team and preparing the team for the World Cup 2019 qualifying round. He is the son of Dick Taylor who was an NCAA coach and assistant with the New York Knicks. Mike Taylor started his coaching career in 2001 with Chemnitz (Germany-2.Bundesliga). In 2002-2003, he got valuable experience in the UK with the Essex Leopards London (United Kingdom). In 2003, he started to coach for ratiopharm Ulm leading them into the Beko BBL in 2006 and Beko BBL playoffs in 2009 before leaving in 2011. He had a record of 101-15 in four years of second Bundesliga basketball. He also has coached Kansas Cagerz (USBL) in the summer time as well as being an assistant for the Czech national team. In 2011 he made the jump back to the states and was an assistant for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers(D-League). He then was head coach of the Boston Celtics D League team Maine Red Claws and they reached the playoffs for the first time in team history. He spoke to German Hoops after getting the Hamburg Towers job.
- Miles Schmidt-Scheuber visiting coach Mike Taylor in Maine when he was head coach for the Boston Celtics D-League team Maine Red Claws in 2013
Mike thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome back to Germany and congrats on signing with the Hamburg Towers. 14 years ago you went into your first second Bundesliga season with ratiopharm Ulm. How good does it feel to be coaching in Germany again?
Thank you Miles! 14 years has been a long time filled with a lot of different basketball experiences from all over the world and I am thankful for the opportunities! I feel like I am arriving in Hamburg at an excellent time. The Towers organization has tremendous potential and I believe there is a foundation for success. I hope with a lot of hard-work and team-work we can write a similar success story to my time in Ulm. It feels great because I think Hamburg is a good fit for coaching and for family off the floor.
You probably selected the prettiest city in Germany to work in. What is your early feeling about where you will be hanging out more to watch videos and do scouting more on the Alster lake or at the harbor and Elbe river.
Hamburg is a great city with big potential. I will try to keep things simple and stick to the gym or the Towers team offices at Inselpark for video work but there is no debate that Hamburg has a lot to offer. During my visit, I was able to see the Hafen Geburtstag and there was so much action. I loved it! My hope is we can bring high level basketball into this fun city.