UAB pass play still catching comment

By Toraine Norris - The Birmingham News     Mar 24, 2004

Ronell Taylor claims he didn’t know where identical twin Donell was when he stole the ball from Kentucky and, using both hands, lobbed a pass over his head in the second half of the Blazers’ second round NCAA Tournament game with the Wildcats.

It was Donell who caught the pass in stride at midcourt and slammed home two points.

Ronell may not have known where his twin was, but “something” told him to make the over-the-head pass at that moment.

“Something in the back of my head said throw it back, somebody’s back there,” said Ronell.

So Ronell, with two Kentucky players converging on him, placed two firm hands underneath the basketball and tossed the ball over his head toward the other end of the floor.

Right about the time the ball left his hands, Donell had a hunch of his own.

“Something said ‘turn back around,'” explained Donell, who was running toward the Kentucky basket. “So I turned back around and caught the ball and went down and dunked it.”

Ridiculous. Incredible. Amazing.

All those words have been used to explain the most talked about play of the NCAA Tournament so far. The connection by the Taylor brothers, dubbed the Wonder Twins, awed the 19,000 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and continues to be talked about across the nation.

ESPN selected the play as the No. 1 highlight among its Top 10 plays of the week Sunday afternoon. The play continues to receive air time on television highlight shows.

It’s without a doubt the most amazing basketball play in UAB’s 25-plus years of basketball, made all the more remarkable by the fact that identical twins completed it.

To tell them apart on the floor, note that Donell wears both socks high (in honor of his twin, who wears jersey No. 2) and has a tattoo of a cross on his right arm while Ronell wears one sock high (in honor of his twin, who wears jersey No. 1) and has a tattoo of hands praying on his right arm.

The fact the brothers have been playing together since they were 8 years old may have had as much to do with the pass as their relationship as brothers.

“On the basketball court, we just connect on a whole different level,” said Donell.

The twins aren’t just a passing fancy either. After struggling much of their first season in Division I, Donell and Ronell are finally starting to settle down and live up to the accolades that accompanied them out of Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) Junior College and Sidney Lanier High in Montgomery.

The twins are averaging a combined 20.5 points in the NCAA Tournament. Against Washington they combined for 21 points as UAB won 102-100. Two days later, in the Blazers’ 76-75 upset win of top seed Kentucky, they took their game to another level, combining for 20 points, eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and made just two turnovers.

Their combined points per game average at the end of the regular season was 16.0.

“The light is on,” said UAB coach Mike Anderson. “Sometimes with players of that magnitude, the bigger the game, the better they are. Demario Eddins is a classic example of that.

“They enjoy the limelight, but at the same time I want them to play basketball and play winning basketball.”

Anderson told everyone before the season the twins were exciting but the brothers had a lot to learn. They first had to learn to play with others as well as play with each other. Anderson practiced the twins against each other to help them learn.

Despite showing flashes of brilliance early, the twins suffered their share of lumps through the first few months of the season. Donell started some games, but eventually was moved to the bench after a bout with turnovers and poor decision-making.

Ronell played much better and started games as well, but he ended up in Anderson’s doghouse after missing a team meeting. (An odd fact considering the brothers are always together).

Anderson told the twins just before the Feb. 11 Southern Mississippi game he needed them to step up their play.

“It was kind of rocky at first because we were just trying to get a feel for Division I basketball,” said Donell. “We knew when tournament time came – because our teammates were depending on us and we were depending our teammates – we had to come off the bench and step up our game.”

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