Higher Court: The Lost College Basketball Legacy of Fred Taylor

by Joe Weasel

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1882203801
• ISBN13: 9781882203802
• Release Date: January 1969
• Publisher: Orange Frazer Press
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Gripping read

Not only does this book chronicle the life of Ohio State University's former basketball coach (and Hall of Fame Coach) Fred Taylor, it delves into the behind-the-scenes stories of corruption in college basketball and its impact on the sport. There are numerous interviews with players and coaches and other sports figures that shed light on the exceptional man who was Fred Taylor. It is touching, moving, infuriating, and gives the reader insight that has never before been put out for public consumption. The book was published about a month prior to his death.

Coach Fred Taylor

I "second" Robert L. Leonhard's review. As an OSU student back in the early-mid 70s, I thought Coach Taylor was a class act, but often wondered why he didn't win more games. I guess he just didn't seem to fit in with the modern "what's in it for me" player. This book puts some of that in perspective. Jimmy Cleammons noted that Taylor was the ONLY coach not to offer him stuff under the table when he was being recruited. As noted in the book, the Athletic Department (i.e., the Director) was never known for supporting the basketball team, even after getting literally mugged by U of Minnesota thugs (the "great" Dave Winfield, Brewer, Behagen, Taylor, the Gopher mascot that sucker punched Mark Minor, the cowardly Coach Musselman, the equally cowardly Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke, etc.). Because of the lack of league and school support, Coach Taylor probably should have left after that fiasco. By the way, I still have a hard time pulling for the U of Minnesota in any non-conference games in any sport.

Long overdue credit for a great coach and man

I am an Ohio State graduate and love OSU football but we also have wonderful legacy in basketball due to Fred Taylor. This is a long overdue recognition of Coach Taylor's success as a basketball coach and more importantly as a mentor to his players. He was always a gentleman and deserved better treatment by the OSU athletic office especially after his team was mugged by the Minnesota team (including Dave Winfield, a reason I always hoped Winfield would fail in baseball since he was a thug along side his team and jerk of a coach, Bill Mussleman). Bobby Knight always loved beating OSU due the way it treated Coach Taylor and it is ironic that Knight admired Fred Taylor but behaved exactly opposite of the manner in which Coach Taylor behaved. It is a testimony to Coach Taylor's class that he never bad mouthed OSU after he was fired. All OSU basketball fans should read this book so they will know that two coaching giants put OSU sports on the highest levels. I give the book 4 stars because I wish the author could have included more actual convesations with Coach Taylor although Coach Taylor's health may have prevented it.