PAUL PATTERSON
Coach's EmailFor a man in his twenty-ninth year of coaching at the same institution, Paul Patterson does not exhibit any signs of easing up. And that is not a good sign for the competition.
Patterson's approach to building a program that produces quality graduates as well as winning teams has not changed much in his time with the Trojans.
And don't look for it to change any time soon. "I still really want to coach because athletics continues to be one of the few places where you have a direct impact on young people's lives."
For twenty-nine years, he has impacted players on Taylor's campus and they in turn have gone on to their own paths. "It is very rewarding to see our players going into their chosen field be it business, teaching, ministry or coaching and making an impact of their own."
Though Patterson has been coaching for nearly forty years, his plan for success has remained the same-- it takes championship people to build championship teams. "One of the keys to our success has been to find kids who know that Taylor is the right place for them to be. They realize the commitment and dedication it takes to be successful in all areas of their life."
Patterson, who has put together a 636-285 record while at Taylor, has taken his team to the NAIA National Tournament fourteen times including the 2005-06 season.
The 05-06 team achieved goals that Patterson believes lead to a team's success. The Trojans gave up only 58.9 points per game, shot .478% from the floor and .742% from the foul line, all ranking in the Top 25 in the NAIA.
This team also won a share of the MCC regular season championship and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.
The 1990-91 season found Taylor with a 34-4 record and a spot in the NAIA Final Four.
In 1993-94, the Trojans posted a 29-5 overall mark, were ranked No.1 in NAIA Division II and advanced to the Elite Eight at the NAIA National Tournament.
In the 1997-98 season, the Trojans captured their first Mid-Central Conference Tournament championship with a thrilling 96-95 victory over Bethel.
Patterson has twelve Coach of the Year awards to his credit, including the 1990-91 NAIA National Coach of the Year honor and the 1994 NAIA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year. In 1996, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame as well as the Hanover College Athletic Hall of Fame (his alma mater).
Compare Patterson to his peers, and its easy to see the level of excellence that he has established at Taylor. In the last six years, the Trojans have a record of 141-57, a winning percentage of .712.
From 1984-94, the Trojans recorded 10 straight years with 25 or more wins, a feat that has only been achieved by three other schools at any level of collegiate basketball (UCLA, UNLV, and Lipscomb). The 10-year record was 271-69, a .797 win rate.
In his twenty-nine years as head coach, every player who has played four years of basketball under Patterson has graduated with a college degree.
Six players have earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors and twenty- three have been selected to NAIA All-District or All-Region teams. In addition, Patterson has coached players to twenty-one NAIA All-American awards at Taylor.
Widely regarded as one of the best basketball coaches in the nation, Patterson is a great teacher of the game. Twenty-five of his former players are now involved in coaching at either the high school or college level.
Patterson-coached teams are known for being fundamentally sound and for playing tough, aggressive defense. Taylor annually ranks among the NAIA's best teams in team defense and team free throw percentage. Last year, the Trojans were sixth in the NAIA in defensive average finishing in the top six for the fifth season in a row, yielding just 63.2 points per game.
These are trademarks of a Patterson team. Shoot well, defend well, the rest will take care of itself.
A native of Hammond, Indiana, Patterson attended Hammond Morton High School.
He played basketball and baseball for Hanover College and earned his bachelor's degree in physical education and mathematics from Hanover in 1964. He also played four years of semipro baseball.
Patterson went on to earn his master's degree in education from Central Missouri State in 1965. He served as a graduate assistant coach at Central Missouri in 1965.
From there, Patterson served as head coach at high schools in Spencer, IN. (1965-68); Somerset, KY. (1968-70); and Amelia, OH (1970-71). He was an assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University from 1971-75.
Prior to his arrival at Taylor, Patterson was the head coach at Ashland Paul Blazer High School (KY) from 1975-79. While at Blazer, his teams made the Kentucky State Tournament each year and in 1977, he was named Coach of the Year in the conference. In 1978, he served as the head coach of the United States All-Stars at the Derby Classic and in 1979 he led the Kentucky All-Stars to two wins over the Indiana All-Stars in the annual Kentucky-Indiana High School All-Star series. In 2003, Paul Blazer High School honored Patterson with the Distinguished Tomcat Award.
In addition to his coaching duties, Patterson is an associate professor in the Physical Education and Human Performance department at Taylor.
He also serves as the Basketball Supervisor each summer for the Indiana Basketball Camp, which has been held on the Taylor campus for the past 51 years and has over 54,000 alumni.
Active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Patterson has worked at FCA basketball camps for 19 years. He also is a much sought after speaker at basketball clinics across the nation. During the 1994-95 season, he served as the President of the NAIA Basketball Coaches Association.
ASSISTANT COACH
ASSISTANT COACH - CHAD TAPP
Chad Tapp is entering his fourth season as an assistant coach for the men's basketball program.
A native of Madisonville, Kentucky, Tapp prepped at Hopkins County Central High School. As a senior, he helped lead Hopkins County Central to the Sweet Sixteen in the Kentucky State Tournament.
Tapp's collegiate career began at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee. After one season Tapp transferred to Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Illinois where he was an All-Region nominee, selected to the Illinois Junior College North vs. South All-Star Game, as well as the Illinois vs. Missouri Junior College All-Star Game.
From there, Tapp moved on to Taylor University where he was a member of the 2003-2004 NAIA National Tournament team that was ranked as high as number two in the country.
Tapp graduated from Taylor in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. His main responsibilities include recruiting, scouting, strength training, as well as the development of post players. He currently resides in Upland with his wife Lindsey.