After the game the Lady Bulldogs and head coach Joni Taylor danced to Silento’s song – Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) (Photo by Ted Mayer)
Joni Taylor, who has led the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team to a 21-8 overall record in her first season as head coach, has been named the 2016 Whack Hyder Georgia Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Wednesday.
Taylor has had an impressive first year at the helm of the program, as the team has its eyes set on returning to the NCAA Tournament. Among other accomplishments, Taylor has guided Georgia to a 9-7 mark in the rigorous SEC this season, compiling five wins over ranked teams for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.
“It is truly an honor to be named the Whack Hyder Georgia Women’s College Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club,” Taylor said. “This is a basketball rich state with very talented players and deserving coaches who have helped elevate our game in so many ways. It is humbling to be named Coach of the Year by such a prestigious organization, and I want to personally thank the Atlanta Tipoff Club for their many contributions to the game of basketball.”
The first-year coach has been instrumental in the development of All-SEC performers Shacobia Barbee and Tiaria Griffin as well as SEC All-Freshman Team selection Caliya Robinson, who has become one of the top freshmen in the league during her first year at Georgia.
Taylor has also put an emphasis on community involvement this season, as evidenced in the award-winning Beyond Basketball group she created as an outreach to women in the Athens community. In addition to the team’s annual Bike Build, Georgia has also adopted the fifth-grade class at Stroud Elementary in Athens, where the team routinely visits throughout the year.
On the court, Taylor’s team is set to open play in the 2016 SEC Tournament on Thursday night in Jacksonville, Florida. The Lady Bulldogs are a No. 6 seed and have won seven of their last nine games entering this year’s tournament.
This year’s recipients of the Georgia Women’s Coach of the Year and Player of the Year as well as the Men’s Coach and Player of the Year will be honored at a ceremony on Sunday, March 13 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
For more information on the event, visit naismithtrophy.com.