The Final Entry of “Speaking the Truth”

The final entry for Speaking the Truth profiles Ricky's final all-star game and his thanks you's to everyone who helped him along the way.

Thanks again for making this a special year for me and for my firend Ricky "The Truth" Taylor.

I will be looking for some other people to keep a dairy for me for next season so if you interested drop me an email and we will select whom we think is the best candidate or candidates.

 

The Final Diary of The Truth

My last diary of "Speaking The Truth"

I would like to thank the main guy for making this diary function:  Andre Whitehead.  When I first heard about the tnprephoops, I went on the site and I saw my name.  I was shocked!  I asked everybody who was watching me.  My teammates told me--Andre Whitehead.  I was like, "I like this guy already and I haven't even met him.  So then we I did meet him, I was like, "Andre is a down to earth guy."  Ever since then, he has still been doing his thing.  I really appreciate him for helping not only me out, but the rest of the basketball players in the state. I was thinking how amazing it was to have rankings for all the different classes.  Andre has seen a lot great talent come through Tennessee.  I can say that he is the best at writing articles and summarizing events that he attended.  I was thinking that the NBA needs to put Mr. Whitehead on TV before and after games to analyze games.  I KNOW THAT YOU ALL AGREE WITH ME!!  Andre, I'm going to miss this great opportunity.  I wish you the best in the futue.

Well the Golden Circle West TN All-Star Game....it was boring.  Oh my gosh!  At the beginning of the game, it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r for a team to score only one basket.  I was getting frustrated on the bench..."Coach put me in the game!!!"  I got in and I didn't do anything either.  It was a disappointing first half but it was all good. 

The second half was better...oh so much better.  The match up everyone been waiting to see--Justin Blake vs Ricky Taylor...Ricky Taylor vs Justin Blake!  I got the ball in the post and made a quick move to the basket...ok simple move.  I got 2 points.  So my boy, Mr. Blake, got the ball.  It looked like he was saying, "It's my turn now Mr. Taylor.  Ha ha.  So I was putting my best defense on him...Im talkin bout like locking a serial killer up in jail...im just talkin yall...so he tried to go by me and I cut him off.  He tried again and I cut him off again...good job Ricky!!! So I guess Justin got tired and pulled out a trick under his sleeve or something...he....to be continued....

Ok we back...ha...so he pulled out a 2 piece combo on me.  He crossed over to the right and crossed back to the left...when he crossed over the first time...me being the dummy...i went for it.  He froze me!  He "Allen Iverson crossed me."  Everybody said oooohh...I was like No!!!  Then Mr. Blake finished it off with a slow motion finger roll and the crowd went crazy.....I was like, "Well, at least the crowd is into now."  Justin and I became like best friends after we played each other in the Regional Championship.  I talk about him all the time because he is like a brother to me....yeah you can shed a tear.....yeah you can laugh now.

My team ended up winning..congrats to MVP Jeremy Fason.  He hustled and worked real hard.  On my team, my MVP would have been Jeremy Rhodes from Bolivar. He worked.  I mean he worked real hard.  I know he had a double double.  He played physical and blocked shots.  He even shot a 3...big man got a soft touch...as you can see my analization is coming out...I've been reading too much of Andre Whitehead's great work...Andre makes me want to get my own website one day..you never know.

On the opposing team, I would have given the MVP to Victor McLin..that athletic man played real good--scoring, rebounding, and of course dunking.  The game wasn't too bad, but it was good to meet new teammates whom I have never met.

This is it people...the end of The Truth...I am leaving out for college, UT Chatt, on June 4 for summer classes and I CANNOT WAIT to get up there.  I am going to be in the weight room as well.  I hope that I shared some information that was beneficial to you all.   I know that I have written some crazy stuff from time to time..but hey...thats me.  By the way, I gave my first sermon not too long ago and that went really well.  I will be bringing the message again the 5th Sunday in June which is June 29.

I thought I was through in the last paragraph but finally...this is it! So keep me in your prayers.  I will need every single one of them. Be blessed..ok people...the last words of "Speaking The Truth....I am "The Truth"

“The Truth” Graduates…End Of An Era

WOW!!!!!!!!!

Just a few short years ago I was in a gym in West Tennessee and this gangly kid was kocking down jumpers and taking his man to the hole, while I stopped the closest onlooker and said who is that kid. 

Thats Ricky Taylor.

We became fast friends and I am so proud to call Ricky my friend. This will his next to the last post from "Speaking the Truth". The final coming after the Golden Circle All-Star Classic this weekend in Jackson.

I'm proud of everything Ricky has accomplished and done with his life. I am truly blessed to call him a friend and will follow his career diligently at Chattanooga.

Check out his latest entry about his graduation.

Graduation!!!

It is time to "Speak The Truth!"

Yes, I'm finally out of school for good.  I am officially through with high school.  Counting kindergarten, I have had a long 13 years of being in the school system.  My graduation went real well though.  As 1st Vice President of my Senior Class, I had to give the welcoming to all the guests.  I wasn't nervous of all the people because I'm used to playing in front of large crowds anyway. 

I graduated with honors as well as being a Distinguished and Tennessee Scholar.  I finished 16th in my class.  It was some tough competition to get in the top 10.  I received a couple of local schlarships from the community, so I believe that is going to help my college life go along smoothly.

After I received my diploma, I felt loved from family to friends.  I took a lot of pictures, and I finally started smiling for a change.  I usually don't smile when I take pictures as you can see on the homepage...ha.  I was happy though, because I made it.  Family gave me gifts, and I was very thankful.  My first cousin probably gave me one of the best gifts.  She gave me a scrapbook.  Yes, a scrapbook.  She told me that she had been keeping up with all the articles that I was in.  She surprised me.  She had just about every article since I was playing basketball.

I went to the Huddle House to eat after graduation, but a friend and I left the Huddle House because it was packed.  If you didn't know how small Brownsville, TN was, I had to eat a graduation dinner at the most famous restaurant in the world-- McDonalds!!! It still tasted good because I was starving....I am "The Truth"

Prom

Its been a long time since The Truth has went forth...so lets roll.

My prom was a highlight of my life!  I took the former Miss HHS of 2007 last year, and she was beautiful.  We wore a"tweety-bird" yellow for our color.  I've been expecting this prom for a long time since I've never been to one before.  Everybody was coming up to us talking about how good we looked together.  Let's get this straight.  She was the celebrity so she made me look good.  People coming from left and right taking pictures.  My date made me feel like a celebrity.  It was all good too. 

With all of that success going on, I really thought it was going to be a natural weather disaster.  Haywood was under a tornado and thunderstorm watch.  So the storm started coming right before prom started.  I had to go pick my date up all the way in the country-well almost in another county.  She stayed out of the way, and you know how high gas is now a days....but like I said, she was beatuful, and she was definitely worth the drive.

I met her family, and her mom was real crazy.  She was cool though.  Her mom took the storm SO seriously!  She was actually prepared to go into the ditch outside if the tornado was in the area.  I smiled because I wasn't about to go outside in my tuxedo and get all muddy.  The storm was getting worse so my date's mother told her that she wasn't going to the prom because of the weather.  I made an ugly face like...this woman must be crazy.  So, my date literally went back and took her prom dress off.  I was like NO!!!!!!!

We were watching the news, and we were in the "red" part.  I wasn't scared at all cause I knew that God would let the storm pass over.  It became calm, and it started to sprinkle a little bit.  I was like...YES!!! Never speak too fast because my date was just sitting there.  In my mind I was saying, "Aren't you going to go put your dress back on?"  So my date started talking about how hungry she was.  She went into the kitchen and just started messing around.  At this point, I'm mad.  We were already late.

Fortunately, my date came to her senses, and she went to put back on her dress.  Thinking she was progressing, her mom interrupted and told her to hold on.  Hold on?  I was like...HURRY UP?  My date had to go to the front door and look outside the door to see the sky for herself.  She realized that she would go ahead and go despite the weather condtions.  Now I'm thinking, "ABOUT TIME!" 

The prom was held in Haywood High's gymnasium.  The theme was:  "Las Vegas."  We made it to the school safely.  I was happy, my date was happy, and I guess the "crazy mom" was happy.  I hope my date's mom doesn't read this.  ha..ha...I am "The Truth"

WANTED: My Visit to Chatt

It's time to Speak the Truth once again....
 
My visit to Chatt was unbelievable!  When I went on an official visit, trust me, I went on an official visit.  The Chattanooga coaching staff did their thing.  When I say that they did their thing, they did their thang!
 
I met with the coaches at the Waffle House, and the food was delicious.  My coaches checked me into the hotel.  When I got to the door of my room, I was already in trouble.  I knew I was wanted in the city of Chattanooga.  I was wanted for possession of deadly basketball skills.
 
I was laughing cause they actually made everything feel like home.   I was laughing so hard cause once again I felt "wanted."  I called some of my friends real quick after that.  The coaches made my night.
 
Then I went on campus and met some of the academic people and staff.  I went into the locker room, and loved everything about the atmosphere.  I was hot you all.  I thought the police department were on their way to come scoop me up and take me to jail or something.  I was just smiling.
 
We then went to eat at this place where they had some of the best wings in town.  I ate good as well as my father and the coaches. 
 
I felt in love with them, and I had a million dollar smile. 
 
The smile went away cause I knew that they were all nice and stuff, but as soon as I come down there, they are going to treat me like dirt.  They are going to kill me in the weight room, kill me on the court, and kill me in any other way you can think of....ha ha.  I know the process.  They will talk good to you to get you to come, but as soon as you get down there you are through.....people, people, people...you know I'm just telling The Truth.

“The Truth” Grabs MVP…West Wins TACA 121-82

Ricky "The Truth" Taylor (Haywood County) dropped 23 points and grabbed six boards leading the west squad to a 121-82 drubbing of the East in the annual TACA All-Star Game.

The game was played at lovely Trvecca Nazarene College and featured graduating seniors fro the Eastern and Western parts of the state who's schools are a member of the organization known as TACA.

Taylor, recently committed to Chattanooga, was superb from the field netting 10 field goals and was the recipient of many passes from Class A Two-time two-time Mr Basketball M.J. Brown (Union City) who finished the game with 9 assists and 8 points.

The East was led by their MVP Marsallis Mlaone (Gallation), who finished with 12 points and 8 caroms. He was tied for scoring honors with Keith Morris (Ravenwood) who also finished with 12.

The West placed six players in the double figure column including Taylor. Josh Henley (Hunter's Lane), a Gardner Webb commitment, had a marvelous afternoon finishing with 18 marker snad pulling down 15 boards.

Also in double didgits for the West Kevin Giltner (Harpeth), a Wofford signee, with 16, Justin Blake (Dyer County), a recent Austin Peay commitment, finished with 12. Elgin Lee (Braircrest) added 12 and Jeremy Rhodes (Bolivar Central) finished with 10.

Other members of the West squad included Tony Wilkins (Union City), Charles Holt (Liberty Tech), John Primm (Dickson County), Pierre Mitchell (Sycamore) and Rogers Gaines (White House).

On the East side Class AAA state tourney MVP Dominique Minor (Fulton) finished with 11 points and 9 boards, D'Juan Epps (Oakland) added 10 and Jonathan Newbell (Gallatin) finished with 9.

Other members of the east squad included Tyler Cutter (Siegel), the Indiana State signee finished with 6 assists, Kyle Delaney (White County), Michael France (Shelbyville), Bronson Flack (Dobyns Bennett), Josh Brown (White County) and Antjuan Majors (Mt. Juliet).

The All-Star Weekend

It's time to speak "The Truth" one more time.

Well I had a great weekend with the All-Star team in Nashville.  I finally got to see the life of my opponents.  Everybody was cool.  I was roommates with Charles Holt from Liberty.  Jeremy Rhodes from Bolivar and guess who....Justin Blake from Dyer County were in our room most of the time.  Josh Henley from Hunters Lane was funny, but Elgin Lee from Briarcrest was the man!  He was the funniest person on the team.  He even made the coaches laugh a couple of times....well probably a lot of times.  My teammates and I were just talking about basketball.  We went in depth on that subject.  Those guys had me tripping out!

The people over the whole All-Star weekend did an outstanding job. They took care of us.  The food was delicious, the hotel was nice, and the gear was off the chain.  The first day everybody was kind of mad because we didn't get our shoes.  We were incomplete without the kicks.  It was so funny to see the faces of my teammates when we didn't get the shoes.  Turning the tables around, when we did get them...oh my gosh!!!  Faces lit up!  Teeth started showing!  What made me laugh was that everybody put them on immediately!  It was a trip though.

The practices went nice.  I enjoyed listening to Coach Sisco and Coach "Fro."  It was definitely an honor to play for the both of them.  We practiced hard.  We had some great plays that I might have to put down in my play book if I ever become a coach...ha.  Yes sir!

My teammates...what can I say?  I've been waitng to play with them for years.  I'm sorry to express myself like this, but it was an honor to play with them too.  This was my dream team.  Everybody had an I.Q. of the game.  Everybody knew their role.  I was feeling it yall.  I never have played with a team where everybody played their role.  That is a basketball dream for me.  I don't know about you other ballers, but that was "My Dream Team."

The game went real well.  We did like I said we were going to do.  I told the East team that we were going to shoot them out.  I was going to talk stuff, but thats not my game.  I was there to have a good time and enjoy the game of basketball. I was named MVP of the West squad with 23 points and could'nt have done it without my teammates.

I wouldn't mind having an All-Star Game every month or so....yup...I am "The Truth"