SIUE's Ray'Sean Taylor broke down in tears after NCAA loss. The chance to play meant that much
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The best assist that Brian Taylor II made on Thursday after SIU Edwardsville had been routed by Houston in the school's first trip to the NCAA Tournament came long after the teams had walked off the floor.
His buddy, Ray'Sean Taylor, was asked about the memories he'd take away from the day, and for him it had been the culmination of a dream. Ray'Sean grew up 20 minutes away from campus in Collinsville, Illinois, and he overcame two torn ACLs to shepherd the unheralded Cougars to an Ohio Valley Conference championship and a No. 16 seed in the March Madness field.
The score of the game — a 78-40 loss that was never really close — hardly mattered to him.
'We won a championship, at the end of the day. I think that's going to cement everything I worked for and everything I went through,' Ray'Sean Taylor said, before his words began to stumble, tears began to flow, and the senior guard broke down in sobs.
His coach, Brian Barone, put his arm around him. Tears were forming in Barone's eyes, too.
That's when Brian Taylor stepped in to help his friend out.
'It's about bouncing back, having the attitude to fight adversity,' he said, while Ray'Sean Taylor tried to compose himself. 'This dude right here, he's been through a lot. It's a testament to his character, his work ethic, his community.'
'It's one team,' Brian Taylor said, 'and it really is one family.'
It was the kind of raw, endearing moment that underscores exactly what the NCAA Tournament means to those who play in it, and the kind that Houston coach Kelvin Sampson hopes is always a part of it.
As power leagues continue to push for NCAA Tournament expansion, perhaps to 72 or 76 teams in the near future, small schools from low- and mid-major conferences are concerned they might be further marginalized. The extra at-large bids will be handed out to the Big 12, Big Ten, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences, while smaller schools will be relegated to First Four-type games, and perhaps even have the automatic berths that are given to all conference champions eliminated altogether.
'This game is bigger than any individuals,' Sampson said matter-of-factly. 'The people who sit in these back rooms and try to make decisions on kids' experiences, sometimes those people forget where they came from.'
Sampson certainly hasn't forgotten. He played at Pembroke State, a Division II school in North Carolina, and his first real coaching job came at Montana Tech, an NAIA school, because nobody else was willing to give him a chance.
'Having conference tournaments and having a chance to play for this tournament is great incentives for teams. It keeps teams in it,' he said. 'Most of these low- to mid-major conferences are one-bid leagues, and you never know if you can catch lightning in a bottle. Win three games and you're in. And once you're in, you never know.
'I hope we never get to a point where we don't allow everybody a chance to be involved in this and make memories for them.'
Barone had hoped for a better showing Thursday. Everyone from SIUE did, including the thousands of fans who made the drive across Missouri to watch their team. If they didn't outnumber fans from Houston, Georgia or Gonzaga, they certainly were louder, even when their team was trailing by 30 and hope had long been extinguished.
'We won a championship,' said Barone, whose father, Tony Barone, was a longtime college coach. 'We earned the right to be seeded where we were seeded. That's how it works. ... That's what we did. That's what we earned.'
While top-seeded Houston was putting the finishing touches on its seventh straight first-round NCAA Tournament win Thursday, the 69-year-old Sampson did something curious: He began to watch SIUE players rather than his own.
'I got tired of looking at us,' he said later, 'so I was really focused on their kids, and I was thinking, 'What a great memory for them.' They'll have this tape to show to their kids one day. 'We played in the greatest event in the world, March Madness.''
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
18 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Full-time dentist, part-time amateur Matt Vogt's US Open homecoming ends with a kick in the teeth
Associated Press OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Matt Vogt's dream-like week heading up to his somewhat unlikely journey to the U.S. Open at a course he once caddied at ended with what felt, perhaps fittingly, like a trip to the dentist's office. The 34-year-old amateur — a Pittsburgh-area native who has a dental practice in the Indianapolis suburbs — had the honors early Thursday morning, taking the opening shot of the national championship's 10th visit to Oakmont. Vogt knew full well the danger of going right. Wanting to avoid putting the ball along Hulton Road, he instead pulled it left. Way left. His 337-yard blast ended up on the edge of the adjoining ninth fairway. He somehow managed to save par, which ended up being one of the few bright spots on a day in which he shot 12-over 82. 'You just can't make physical and mental errors, you can like get away sometimes with one or the other, but you can't get away with both,' he said. 'And you just get behind the eight ball out here and honestly, your head starts spinning. That's honestly what it feels like. Your head starts spinning out here and it just gets away from you.' While Vogt who grew up about 30 minutes northwest of Oakmont, tried to tell himself he had 'zero expectations" after going through qualifying to make the 156-man field. Still, he was hoping to do a little better at the sprawling, links-like course than he did here at the 2021 U.S. Amateur, when he also shot in the 80s. Instead, he spent some time on the practice range Thursday afternoon, searching for something — anything really — to build on. 'I came into such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard,' he said. 'It's just so, so hard. I'd say, in the moment, you feel like you get punched in the face, you know?' Youth is served Mason Howell not only is the youngest player in the field, he got to Oakmont with the lowest scores. The 17-year-old from Georgia had a 64 in local qualifying, and then rounds of 63-63 at Piedmont Driving Club to lead the five players out of Atlanta. The U.S. Open was different. Howell didn't make a birdie on his way to a 7-over 77. He was asked to compare the nerves of contending for a state high school title and playing Oakmont before a sellout. 'It's definitely way more here, like 10 times the people ... way more than that, actually,' Howell said. 'But high school golf and major championships are just a little bit different.' The closest Howell came to making birdie was on No. 1, his 10th hole of the day. He missed a putt just inside 10 feet. Still, it was an experience he wouldn't trade. 'It's definitely special off the first tee,' he said. 'First tee of a major, you're always juiced up and amped up. I was just ready to get started all week. Now I just don't want it to end.' History, and a humbling, for Lowry Shane Lowry had to smile a bit after holing out from 160 yards for an eagle on the par-4 third at Oakmont. That wasn't nearly enough to salvage a brutal first round for the Irishman. Lowry shot a 9-over 79, which included five bogeys, three double bogeys — and that history-making shot on No. 3. His eagle two was the first in U.S. Open history on that hole at Oakmont. Lowry started on No. 10, so by the time he reached No. 3, he was already 6 over on the day. Even the pars on Lowry's scorecard weren't necessarily routine. On No. 17, his tee shot went into the rough next to the green. His second shot didn't make it out of the rough. His third rolled across the green to the fringe on the other side. Then he chipped in from there. Pinball wizard Tony Finau's best par of the day looked more like pinball than golf. His second shot on the par-4 18th hole clanked off a sprinkler head at the back of the green, then into the grandstand, where it nearly hit a spectator, who reached down to pick it up before thinking better of that. Finau got a drop in front of the grandstand, then hit a towering flop shot that still rolled 41 feet away from the back hole location. But he made it to save par -- a rare highlight on a day when he shot 6-over 76. Wherever he may roam Thriston Lawrence gets around a lot. Maybe that's why it didn't take him long to get comfortable during his first trip to Oakmont. The South African, who put together a 3-under 67 to find himself one shot back of early leader J.J. Spaun, doesn't currently have a 'home base.' Lawrence is in his first full season on the PGA Tour — where he's made just 2 of 11 cuts — but returned to the DP World Tour to play a couple of events ahead of the U.S. Open. The lifestyle isn't new to the 28-year-old, who remembers playing upwards of 30 events a year when he was in elementary school. Asked if he gets homesick, he shrugged. 'I mean, it's not nice,' he said. 'I would love to be home.' That's not in the cards at the moment. Sometimes he crashes in Florida at DP World Tour member Thomas Aiken's house. Sometimes he just logs into Airbnb to see what's available, something that helps him 'not get attached.' 'It would be nice to get something, but I'm not yet sure where that is for now," he said. ___ AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, AP National Writer Eddie Pell and AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report. ___ AP golf: recommended
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rupe Taylor turns life around after a DWI. Now the golf pro is playing in the PGA Championship
Rupe Taylor watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor walks to the tee on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor speaks during a interview before the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt York) Rupe Taylor hits his tee shot on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor watches on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor watches on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor walks to the tee on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor speaks during a interview before the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt York) Rupe Taylor hits his tee shot on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Rupe Taylor watches on the 16th hole during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rupe Taylor had 10 days to contemplate his most improbable path to the PGA Championship, and that wasn't enough to prepare the golf professional when he arrived at Quail Hollow. He walked 18 holes with a wedge and a putter to get comfortable. And then he stepped into the locker room and found himself face-to-face with Scottie Scheffler. Advertisement 'I had to do a double take because I was like 'I can't believe this is happening,'' said Taylor, a 35-year-old whose 'Play Better Golf Now' instruction business in Virginia is affiliated with Virginia Beach National. "He was so kind. He was authentic. I talked to him for a couple of minutes and he asked me about me.' It was only for a couple of minutes, not nearly enough time for Taylor to tell him about a life he feared he had squandered through alcohol until he woke up in a hospital room, his arms and legs tied to the bed and his mother sitting beside him with her head in her hands. Taylor was 23, a graduate of the Professional Golf Management program at North Carolina State, working at a Virginia golf course. He had been drinking since high school — 'Anything, anytime, any reason to drink,' he said — until he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He had no memory of how he wound up in a hospital. Advertisement 'I was completely incoherent,' Taylor said. 'I didn't know what happened, so the only thing I knew to ask her was if I killed someone.' There was relief to find out there was only minor damage to his car and another vehicle. And there was a second chance he couldn't afford to pass up. He attended Alcoholic Anonymous meetings practically every day. He met a girl through a social media app, Baylee, who trusted the process and stayed by him on the road to recovery, to finding work in the golf business. Taylor has been sober for 12 years now. They are married with an 18-month-old daughter, Noah. He worked at golf courses on Kiawah Island in South Carolina and back home in Virginia. That's when he decided to spend his working time giving lessons to a cross-section of people who wanted to get better, allowing more time with his wife and young daughter. Advertisement Yes, it's been a journey. Taylor is among the 20 club professionals at the PGA Championship who will take on Quail Hollow alongside Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and defending champion Xander Schauffele. The strongest field of the majors has 98 of the top 100 players in the world ranking. And the field includes Rupe Taylor, a recovering alcoholic and teaching professional who still can't believe he has his name plate in a locker room next to PGA Tour winners Nick Taylor and Sahith Theegala. PGA professionals have come under scrutiny over the years for diluting a field at a major championship. They are among some 31,000 members of the PGA of America who work long hours giving lessons, folding shirts, organizing club competitions. This is their reward. Advertisement Taylor qualified at the PGA Professional Championship in Florida on April 30, making a double bogey on the 11th hole that made him sweat, recovering with consecutive birdies to easily finish in the top 20 to earn a spot in the field. Scheffler recalls meeting Taylor on Sunday when he arrived. 'It's a lot of fun to have those guys in this tournament,' Scheffler said. 'I think the PGA pros do a lot for the game of golf, running tournaments all over the country, teaching people all over the country, and it's a huge organization, and they do a lot for our game.' Taylor mentioned being on Cloud 9 on more than one occasion, but actions speak louder than cliches. He showed up Monday at 7:30 a.m. in the rain and played 18 holes. Advertisement 'Nothing is going to faze me,' he said. 'We have rain gear. We have umbrellas. I'm at the PGA Championship. I'm going to play.' It was his second time at the PGA Professional Championship, the first experience a decade ago when he was just starting to get his life back in order. That wasn't easy on its own. And then a year into sobriety, Taylor lost his grandfather to cancer. Ten days later, his father died. He had diabetes from a young age and wasn't in the best shape. 'He had low blood sugar, got into a car accident and I never go to speak to him again,' Taylor said, his voice cracking slightly. It was a devastating time in his life, and yet he never felt stronger. Advertisement 'At that point, I had my sobriety in order and I think in some ways it helped me deal with the grief,' he said. "A lot of what we discussed in AA is you can't let circumstances influence your desire to drink or give you an excuse. 'Without sobriety, I would have fallen into a deep depression and gotten into another bender.' His given name is Robert. Turns out he was playing Little League at age 10 and his coach had bad handwriting. He was called 'Rupert," which became Rupe. And it stuck. It's a name worth noting this week, even if it likely won't be found on the leaderboard. His expectations are minimal. Quail Hollow is a big course for anyone, much less a professional who spends more time giving lessons than honing his own game. Taylor at times wonders how good he could have become had he chosen a different path in golf. Advertisement Then again, he wonders how in the world he got from a hospital bed in a drunken state to teeing it up against Scheffler and McIlroy in the PGA Championship. 'I'm just going to do the best I can and have as much fun as I can,' Taylor said. 'At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what I do. I feel like I won already just by being here.' ___ AP golf:
CBS News
32 minutes ago
- CBS News
White Sox lose to Astros, fall to 7-28 on road
Isaac Paredes hit a solo homer and Jose Altuve doubled twice and had two RBIs to lead the Houston Astros over the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Thursday night. Houston led 4-2 entering the ninth before Mike Tauchman homered to right field off closer Josh Hader to get Chicago within 4-3. There were two outs when Miguel Vargas narrowly missed a homer on a double off the wall in left field. But Hader struck out Austin Slater to improve to 18 of 18 on save opportunities this season. Paredes appeared to injure his leg trying to beat out a double play in the seventh inning and was replaced at third base in the eighth. There was no immediate postgame update. The Astros led by one with one out in the fifth when Paredes connected on his shot to left-center off Davis Martin (2-7) to make it 4-2. Martin yielded seven hits and four runs with five strikeouts in six innings. Houston starter Framber Valdez (7-4) allowed seven hits and two runs with a season-high 12 strikeouts in five innings. Edgar Quero had three hits and two RBIs and Vargas had two doubles and a triple for the White Sox, who fell to 7-28 on the road. Altuve, who is primarily playing left field this season after spending his first 14 seasons at second base, made a leaping grab near the wall in left field in the seventh to rob Chase Meidroth of extra bases. Key moment Hader's strikeout of Slater to end it. Key stat Hader has the most saves without a blown save in the majors this season and his streak is the second longest in franchise history to start a season behind a 21-game streak by Dave Smith in 1989. Up next The White Sox open a three-game series at Texas and the Astros play the opener of a three-game series against Minnesota on Friday.
