Royals’ Taylor Anderson Shines in Two Sports

It isn’t as if Taylor Anderson doesn’t have the genetic predisposition to be an outstanding athlete. Her father, Mel, was a wide receiver for the Minnesota Gophers back in the mid-1980s, and her brother, Isaac, was recently an outstanding wide receiver for the Wisconsin Badgers.

The junior, who is the starting point guard on the girls basketball team, possesses immense athletic ability. In addition to her basketball skills, Anderson is probably the odds-on favorite to win the girls 100-meter dash at this spring’s state track and field championships.

Basketball head coach Brian Cosgriff said she is “just starting to scratch the surface” of her potential.

“Taylor is getting better as a player all the time,” he said. “She’s very coachable and, obviously, very smart.”

Smart in that Princeton and the U.S. Naval Academy have been recruiting her. She also has been contacted by Nebraska, Maine and William & Mary.

“It’s way too early to make a decision as to where I will go,” Anderson said.

Anderson has some big shoes to fill. Last year’s point guard was star Brianna Williams who is now a starting freshman at the University of North Dakota.

Bu the 5 foot, 7 inch Anderson seems to be taking things in stride. She got a lot of playing time last year as a sophomore coming off the bench and was doing very well late in the season until she suffered an ankle sprain that forced her to miss the state tournament the Royals won.

By last spring, however, she was sound enough to take second in the state 100-meter dash as well as be on the talented in the 200-meter dash, be a member of both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays and compete in the high jump.

Some of the colleges recruiting her, like Princeton, would like her to compete in both basketball and track.

“Right now if I had to choose between the two, I would lean toward basketball,” she said.

Anderson noted that her basketball role has changed since the 2010-11 season. Last year, she got a lot of experience coming off the bench and spelling Williams at point guard.

“This year, I have to be responsible for how I play and what I do to help the team repeat,” she said.

But the goal is the same in her mind: “Another state championship. That’s it. That’s always the goal.”