It was quite an eight-day stretch for former Marian Catholic boys basketball coach Mike Taylor.
Taylor, who is also the school’s athletic director, had a heart-to-heart talk before Thanksgiving with girls basketball coach Tom Nichin, who gave up the job after five games, citing health reasons.
A Hall of Fame boys coach, Taylor decided he would take over the girls program.
“Just throwing someone in would be a disservice to the kids and a disservice to a coach,” Taylor said. “I thought right now at this point, I would be best equipped to get them through this period.”
With the 64-year-old Taylor at the helm, the host Spartans opened the East Suburban Catholic Conference season Wednesday night with a 51-12 loss to Carmel in Chicago Heights.
Ty Jackson led Marian Catholic (4-3, 0-1) with six points. Josie Hartman scored 10 points for Carmel (5-1, 1-0). Freshman guard Liv Johnson, whose dad Lucas played at Illinois, added nine points and 13 rebounds.
Nichin took over in September for Dan Murray, who left to form the first girls basketball program at Marmion that will begin in 2026-27. In 12 seasons at Marian, Murray won 11 regional titles and five sectional titles and took third place in the state in Class 3A in 2014.
But on Friday, Taylor held his first practice with the team. On Saturday, a tournament game at the Elmhurst Classic was snowed out. On Tuesday, he made his girls coaching debut with a 61-31 win over Unity Christian.
“These girls have been through a lot these past four months,” Taylor said. “They lost one coach after being with him all summer. Then they were with another coach basically six weeks or so.
“It’s tough. This is a great group and we’re trying to do the best for them. They have been listening to three different voices and we’re going to have to figure that out.”
Jackson, a senior forward who has been on the varsity for four years, has been a part of three straight sectional championship teams for the Spartans. She likes the latest voice.
“I love him already,” Jackson said of Taylor. “He pushes us, he’s super intense and he wants the best for us. He’s a really good coach, and he has so much knowledge to give to us.
“I’ve already learned so much from him. I’m excited to see how much he can teach us in the next three months.”
Taylor was the boys coach for 20 years and ended up a 361-222 record, which included nine regional titles and three sectional titles and a Class 3A third-place finish 2018. He gave up the position after the 2022-23 season.
Taylor, who is in the Hall of Fame for the ESCC and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, took over as Marian Catholic’s athletic director in 2024.
The Carmel loss, in which the Spartans trailed 33-3 at halftime and didn’t get their first field goal until 5:47 in the third quarter, was ugly but it’s a building point for Taylor and the girls.
“That is a state championship-caliber team,” Taylor said of Carmel. “We’re going to fight and see where it goes. We’ve been down that road before.”
That road included a bump when Tyler Ulis, who went on to play in the NBA, was with the Spartans.
“The first game he ever played, we lost to Mount Carmel by 50 points,” Taylor said of Ulis. “I’ve got references and can say that we can recover from this.”
Jackson also believes that.
“This is going to be the worst game you are going to see out of us,” Jackson said of Wednesday’s loss. “By the time January comes, we’re going to be one of those top teams.
“We’re going to get back in the lab and keep working.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.