The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns spotlight: Kenny Taylor
03.10.2004 | Men's Basketball
When Kenny Taylor was getting into sports as a young boy, football was the direction he leaned. Shortly thereafter, he turned to basketball. Even so, he was playing quarterback on his ninth-grade football team when his eventual coach at Sugar Land Willowridge, Ronnie Courtney, asked him to join the varsity basketball squad.
His basketball career flourished over the next few seasons leaving him with another big choice; where to go to college. After months of deliberation and a few official visits, the choice for Taylor became clear. He chose mom.
"I had a couple of different schools after me coming out of high school, but the most important factor to me was going somewhere close to my mom so she could watch me play," explained Taylor.
"I didn't want him to go too far from home," said Taylor's mother, Denise Armelin. "I just wanted to see him happy, because I knew how much he wanted to play basketball in college."
Kenny's relationship with his mother spawned out of a single-parent home in which Taylor was the eldest male.
"I was very young when I had my children, so we kind of grew up together in a way," explained Armelin. "Kenny made my life easier because he was such a good child. We have one of those relationships where we know what each other is thinking, so it made that period a lot easier on both of us."
Taylor explained his love for his mom with the simplest statement.
"My mom is my heart."
"My mom has always been there for me, whether it was the easiest or toughest decisions," added Taylor. "I owe a lot to her and I'm just glad that she has the opportunity to see me succeeding in college."
Taylor's first collegiate experience came at Baylor. After being named to the Big 12's All-Improved team following his sophomore season, it seemed as though his dream was being fulfilled. That was before the events in Waco later that summer left Taylor feeling unsure of his future.
"I didn't know what was going on or what I was going to do," said Taylor. "I was lucky to have my mom at that point, because she gave me the strength to get through that. She told me that everything was going to work out."
Work out it did. The negatives from that summer turned into positives at The University of Texas. Not only was he going to a team that had just been to the Final Four, but he also was going to be an hour and a half closer to his hometown of Houston and his mother.
"It was like my prayers had been answered," said Armelin. "Kenny and I had always helped each other while he was growing up, but I didn't know what I could do for him in that situation. I just prayed that everything would be all right."
Now, Taylor is shining under the lights of the Frank Erwin Center. He is currently second on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg and is hitting his three-pointers at a 43 percent clip entering tonight's game.
Armelin says that Taylor's quiet demeanor is a lot like hers, and that they are similar in so many ways. If that is truly the case, then I guess we can assume that Ms. Armelin must have a decent jump shot as well as a proud son.
