Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
File photo: Tony Bullocks Dora’s Taylor Dillard signed to play college basketball with Eastern New Mexico University for next season. The 5-foot-10 Dillard averaged 17.9 points and 12.9 rebounds in her final season.
Taylor Dillard knew she was going to college after she graduated from Dora, and looked into veterinary science programs at Oklahoma Panhandle State and West Texas A&M.
But if she planned to play basketball, Dillard’s only choice was to stay close to home at Eastern New Mexico University. She made that choice on Wednesday, committing to the Greyhounds and Josh Prock’s offseason recruiting class.
link File photo: Tony Bullocks
Dora’s Taylor Dillard signed to play college basketball with Eastern New Mexico University for next season. The 5-foot-10 Dillard averaged 17.9 points and 12.9 rebounds in her final season.
“ENMU was the only school I wanted to play for,” said Dillard, who is weighing redshirting the 2015-16 season. “I really liked the program. I get along with the coach, and I got along with all of the girls there.”
The 5-foot-10 Dillard, the only senior on the Dora roster, was an all-district selection for three consecutive years and averaged 17.9 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals as a senior.
With Dillard leading the way, the Coyotes finished 14-12 in a District 6-2A that produced Melrose as state champion and Logan and Dora as quarterfinalists.
Dillard was a three-sport athlete at Dora, with all-district selections in volleyball and three years competing in the small-school state track meet. She competed in long jump as a senior, and was on Dora relay teams in previous seasons.
“Taylor is a versatile athlete and is able to play multiple positions,” Prock said in a release. “As a coaching staff, we feel Taylor’s ceiling is very high.”
Dora coach Gabriel Montoya said Dillard was pretty much the team’s go-to player.
“She made a great impact,” Montoya said. “I was very pleased with her. She brought a lot to the table, not only in leadership. She wasn’t one-dimensional. I wish we had her another year; we were trying to work on her outside game.”
Dillard said that, along with ball-handling, are the main things she needs to improve to make the jump to the college level.
