Taylor’s Coaching, Defense Steers Ridge

It's early on in the first quarter between Ridge and Monroe on Feb. 12 and Red Devils' fourth-year coach Mark Taylor is not happy with his team. He quickly mutters to himself after his defense allows Monroe's Ken Pace to nail a 3-pointer that ties the game at five-all.

Moments later, he implores star senior swingman Andrew Madlinger to hustle back on defense after they allow a fast break basket. Even when Ridge balloons the lead to nine in the second quarter, he's calling to junior center Tom Gambino to play sound defense. This is when Gambino is still running back on defense after he just completed the prior possession with a short hook shot.

And Monroe hasn't thrown the ball in.

Taylor coached the likes of NBA's Andrew Bynum, who plays center for the Lakers, and ex-Duke All-American Jay Williams at his previous coaching stop, Metuchen's St. Joseph's High School.

Prior to the Taylor's arrival, the program fell on hard times in the mid-1990s. But after Taylor, an ex-Fordham standout, took the reins, he had them in the 1997 championship game of the Middlesex County Tournament. Overall, he led St. Joe's to seven GMCT Final Fours, and won two Non-Public A South titles.

In short time, he's worked his magic with Ridge's basketball program, which prior to his arrival, was an afterthought. In two years at his wife Tammy's alma mater, he led them to the Somerset County Title game and last season, the Red Devils set a record for most wins in a season with 25. This season, Ridge won its first SCT title since 1977.

What makes Taylor successful? What is it about his coaching that has made one of New Jersey's greatest program builders?

To get to the crux of what makes him impressive, one needs to look at his coaching style; in particular the Monroe game, which earlier that week he stated the "game was for fun" because it had no bearing on the conference title or on the big picture. But even during what would turn out to be a 79-59 demolition of an impressive Monroe team, Taylor's intensity is alive and well. With his team up 17 in the third quarter, he grits his teeth and takes out senior point guard Nick Cefalo after he makes a turnover. Seconds later, he's back in the game.

No matter the score, the scene or the opposition, Taylor coaches with the same intensity and vigor that's made him one of the more successful coaches in the state. You can bet that when Ridge takes on Plainfield Saturday in the North 2, Group 4 sectional semifinals, Taylor will have his team thinking it can take slay Goliath and if they pull it off, it won't come as a shock to them.

"He's brought fire to the program," said Gambino, whose transformation into one of the county's best low post players has been under Taylor's coaching. "We all play extremely hard for him and we work hard throughout the season to get better.

 "We all want to win so bad; we see him on the sidelines and we don't want to let him down and we don't want to let the entire team down. He's patient with us and we make sure we're perfect at all times on the court."

Taylor's ability to adjust his personal came in handy because starter Ishaq Pitt transferred before the season and the Red Devils were without Madlinger for the meat of the season with a wrist injury. With Gambino's emergence, Cefalo's continued point guard metamorphism and senior Christian Frisoli and junior Conor Skea filling the scoring role left in Madlinger's absence, the team sustained offensively.

When Madlinger returned, the team gelled with its perimeter game and Gambino complimented the team with his inside play.

But most impressive about Ridge is its defense. The Red Devils don't go tall, they play one guy who stands above 6-foot-5 and that's Gambino. But with a mix of full-court token pressure to the 2-3 matchup zone, Taylor's pushed the right buttons all season defensively.

How has he been able to done it? The players say it's simple.

"In practice, coach is the same way," said Frisoli. "The intensity he brings really carries into us and we go with it."

Skea said Taylor's competitive nature makes them better players.

"In the summer, when we play, we're kind of fooling around," said Skea. "Come fall and come when we start playing for him, we're ten times better because we know he will get in our face if we're not playing defense."

With Taylor's blueprint for success well ingrained into the players at Ridge, it's no secret to why they've become one of the best programs in Somerset County.