Wednesday, August 5, 2015

JSU Sports Hall of Fame member Karen Taylor dies; Mother of Stanley Johnson, Detroit Pistons' rookie forward

Taylor was inducted into JSU's Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan – Stanley Johnson's No. 1 fan won't be around to watch him make his NBA debut for the Detroit Pistons this fall.

Johnson's mother, Karen Taylor, was a professional basketball player herself who played a major role in her son becoming the Pistons first-round pick (eighth overall) in this year's NBA draft.

But Johnson will make his NBA debut with a heavy heart after confirming in a tweet that his mother has died.



Karen Taylor played college basketball at Jackson State University, is a member of the school's Hall of Fame, and played professionally in Europe for five years before focusing on her son's development.

She mentored Johnson as a youngster to the point that Stanley and his friends referred to her as "Coach K."

According to a story by Sports Illustrated, Taylor formed an AAU team when Johnson was 5 years old – the So Cal Tigers – and he played with the group until he was 14. Johnson's mother was his first coach and she granted her son no favors.

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