Fired up
Brett Taylor’s enthusiasm for basketball comes naturally.
The Vestavia Hills resident and incoming president of the Birmingham Tip-Off Club is the son of former South Alabama basketball coach Jimmy Taylor Sr. He also served as a graduate assistant to Sonny Smith at Virginia Commonwealth.
His passion for the sport comes through as he talks about the upcoming season, and especially the Birmingham Tip-Off Club’s second annual College Basketball Tip Off Party, which will be Wednesday, Nov. 4, at WorkPlay. Joe Dean Jr., Birmingham-Southern athletics director and college basketball TV analyst, will moderate the discussion between Alabama coach Avery Johnson, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, UAB coach Jerod Haase and Samford coach Scott Padgett.
Doors open at 5 p. m. and the program begins at 6:30. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar and giveaways. Sponsored by Alabama Power, the event is free and open to the public. You do not have to be a member of the Tip-Off Club to attend.
The Birmingham Tip-Off Club was organized in 1973. It has seen a resurgence of interest, growing to 200 members last year.
“Our goal and our mission is to grow and promote the game of basketball in the city of Birmingham and also around the state of Alabama,” Taylor said.
To that end, besides the regular luncheons on Mondays at the Harbert Center with a stellar lineup of guest speakers, the club is heavily involved with the Alabama State High School Basketball Championships, hosting teams, manning the hospitality rooms and volunteering however needed.
The club also volunteered with last year’s Conference USA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and will do so again this year as the C-USA tourney returns for a second straight year to Legacy Arena at the BJCC and Bartow Arena.
“We’re still looking to grow membership with a great lineup of speakers this year,” Taylor said.
Confirmed speakers this year include Tim Brando of Fox Sports, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey and ex-basketball coaches Wimp Sanderson and Sonny Smith will speak together in what should prove to be a fun time.
Other guest speakers were yet to be confirmed as of this publication. Also, the club recognizes a high school player of the week, with the player, his or her family and coach attending. Taylor said that aspect of the meeting is very popular and the players’ speeches are well received and often touching.
Joe Dean Jr., another great ambassador of basketball in the Birmingham and the Southeast, is the permanent master of ceremonies at the meetings.
Taylor said interest in basketball is starting to boom given UAB’s recent success, the hiring of Pearl and Johnson and increased interest as former Kentucky player Padgett has taken over at Samford.
“UAB making the NCAA Tournament last year had a lot to do with it, just the excitement of that, and the excitement of Bruce Pearl, with the way he markets basketball … I think that’s been a problem in the past, basketball has just not been marketed in a large way,” Taylor said.
Keeping the club vital, growing and promoting basketball is important to Taylor.
“You know, when my father coached at South Alabama, the Birmingham Tip-Off Club was just getting started, and he used to come to speak to the club and used to host the yearly banquet. And my brother is a past president of the club, and now I’m president. So I literally can remember how coaches networked back in those days, and my dad’s friends are my friends now. So I remember hearing about the Birmingham Tip-Off Club from an early age, and I’m just really passionate about it,” Taylor said.
Visit tipoffclub.com for more information on individual, junior and corporate memberships in the Tip-Off Club.