Greenwood Village – Taylor Montgomery was good enough to start midway through his sophomore basketball season at Cherry Creek. He helped lead the Bruins to the Class 5A state championship game last season as a junior.
But then two interesting things happened in the offseason.
Montgomery got better, and a glut of talent from across the state moved on to college, leaving him as one of the top, total-package big men in a hoops landscape still wondering, “Who’s got next?”
A mild surprise at 9-3 this season and atop the rugged Centennial League after Wednesday’s victory at Boulder, the Bruins have shown some early resilience and steady improvement.
Sounds a lot like Montgomery, who is embracing his role as the go-to guy in the absence of Parker Emerson (now at Air Force).
“Because my team really depends on me and my team has a lot of confidence in me, that gives me the feeling that I can be a game-changer and a difference-maker,” Montgomery said. “With all the other big-time players leaving, this gives me the chance to be the game-changers that Matt Bouldin (now at Gonzaga) or Ray Hall (Providence) were.”
If Bruins coach Mike Brookhart could have first pick of the state’s senior class, there’s no doubt Montgomery – already signed with Northern Colorado – would be the one.
“I mean that,” Brookhart said. “You win games with this kid.”
Although extremely athletic at 6-feet-7, Montgomery is not flashy. His 17 points a game are more solid than gaudy. He plays aggressively but stays under control. He is polite, eloquent, hardworking and leads primarily by example.
He has the power to take over the paint on both sides of the court and is smooth enough at the free-throw line to make foes regret fouling him. And when it comes to those coveted intangibles, Taylor’s collar is as blue as his Bruins uniform. Plus, he has a B average in the classroom and plans on business as a college major.
He is, undoubtedly, his father’s son. And that family tree starts with Marv Montgomery, a trunk of a man who played offensive tackle at the University of Southern California and became the Broncos’ first-round selection in 1971.
In eight seasons as a pro and many more as a father, Marv Montgomery said he tried to set an example by being confident but not boisterous, while remaining competitive and enjoying its challenges.
Marv jokes that Taylor gets his brains from his mother, Jane, a hardworking “farm girl” from Iowa. Marv takes credit for the brawn, which raises a natural question.
Why doesn’t Taylor play football, as his father and two older brothers did?
“Personally, I don’t enjoy the sport like I think you need to enjoy the sport,” Montgomery said, citing a list of surgeries to the knees and hip his father has needed since his final NFL season, 1978.
“I figured if I’m going to hurt myself, I’m going to hurt myself doing the sport I love,” Montgomery said.
That’s fine by Marv, who already got to watch one son, Bo, win a state title with Overland in 1993. And besides, sports are only part of a bigger picture.
“I wanted to keep them interested in something that basically would be on a positive note,” Marv said. “That was my only real concern that they didn’t get into things that were negative or didn’t learn the social skills, work ethic or team-player type attitude.”
Filling in the rest of the big picture is a large part of what convinced Taylor to sign with UNC, a fledgling Division I program currently going through some growing pains under first-year coach Tad Boyle.
Montgomery’s goal is to put UNC basketball on the map. He wants to become a versatile forward who can shoot from outside, score down low and bring the ball up the floor if needed. He also wants a degree in business.
And like every prep athlete, Taylor allows himself to imagine what life would be like at the top, whether it be a state championship in March or an NBA career down the road.
After all, big dreams are a big part of the Montgomery household.
“He’s like a huge, walking example to me,” Montgomery said of his father. “If I could make the highest level, that would be a dream come true.”
