Nicki Collen’s staff with the Atlanta Dream now includes Darius Taylor, the team announced on Wednesday.
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Taylor spent five seasons with Dawn Staley at South Carolina, helping to develop last season’s second overall pick in the WNBA Draft, Alaina Coates, and this year’s expected top pick, A’ja Wilson. In Taylor’s last year on staff, the Gamecocks reached their first Final Four in program history.
His history with post players bodes well for the development of young Dream bigs Elizabeth Williams and Imani Boyette.
“I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Darius and his family to the Atlanta Dream,” Collen said. “Darius is a rising star in this profession and someone who understands winning. From his time in basketball operations with USA Basketball, to working with Dawn Staley at Temple and South Carolina, he has helped produce winning players and teams his entire career.
“Darius has a very calm demeanor and his background helping professional athletes navigate life after pro sports gives him a quality that I know our Dream players will greatly respect. His strength in the player development area is something I identified as a need for our team and his work ethic matches what I want to model for our team.”
Taylor joins the recently-hired Mike Petersen to make up Collen’s staff.
Taylor also spent time in the NBA D-League (now G-League), and as an advisor for AthLife, Inc., a company that helps athetes with their post-professional lives.
Taylor played at Michigan as an undergraduate, earning academic all-American status.