The Australian basketball community is mourning the passing of Illawarra Hawks great ‘Stormin’ Norman Taylor, who died at age 55 after suffering a heart attack.
Key points:
- Norman Taylor played for the Hawks for three seasons and still holds the club record for most points in a game
- The 2-metre-tall centre played 67 games for the Hawks between 1989 and 1991
- Friend and former teammate Chuck Harmison said: “He was a great player, but more than that he was a great human being”
Originally from Bridgeport Connecticut in the United States, he was a dominant force for the Purple Knights between 1984 and 1988, before being signed to the Illawarra Hawks for the National Basketball League.
He played 67 games for the Hawks between 1989 and 1991.
Chuck Harmison played for the Illawarra Hawks for nine years and general manager for seven, and he remembers the day Taylor walked into the Snake Pit.
“He was one of imports coach Dave Lindstrom recruited in 1989,” he said.
“I don’t think Lindstrom had ever seen him in person. He watched videos and took advice. Dave was surprised as anyone when he showed up and he was only 6 foot 7 (inches, or just over 2 metres).”
‘Virtually unstoppable’
Harmison played with Taylor for three years.
Harmison said he was virtually unstoppable.
“He was a back-to-basket player, which you don’t see much anymore.
“He would run down the court and just put himself in the post position, and he would post up strong, and you just couldn’t get around him because he was so wide.
“Once he got the ball, he would have a super, super quick first step and he would either get around people or he would have a turn around jump shot and because he was so wide you couldn’t get close enough to him to block it.”
Hawks record for most points
Harmison said his best friend, Dean Uthoff, was guarding him the night he scored 54 points for the Hawks, May 18, 1990.
Taylor dropped 54 points, 13 rebounds and helped defeat Eastside Melbourne Spectres 122 to 117.
Harmison said he stormed through the NBL and the nickname stuck.
“Probably a little bit after ‘Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf, the US general, I guess, and he loved the name.”
“I used to call him ‘Big Daddy’, because that is what he used to remind me of, just a big teddy bear. We would have him over the house — he was so gentle, just a lovely, lovely man.”
Illawarra Taylor’s adopted home
Taylor fell in love with the Illawarra and decided stay in the area, starting a business.
“He always had a smile on his face, a laugh, and a great story to tell.
“Especially hear in Woonona in the northern suburbs of the Illawarra, he was really an institution. Everyone knew ‘Stormin’ Norman’s chicken shop.
Harmison said he was shocked by the sudden passing of his friend from a heart attack, and offered his sympathies to Taylor’s family and friends.
On Facebook, the Hawks have paid tribute the Taylor:
The Hawks are saddened by the passing of Club legend Stormin’ Norman Taylor, and our thoughts as with those who were close to him at this time.
Taylor holds the Club record for points in a single game with 54 in May of 1990 against Eastside as well as being named Club MVP in each of his three seasons in the Illawarra.
