As a senior, I have been to Chapel numerous times, whether it was to attend with my soccer team or just to hear an interesting speaker. But I wish there was more variety in the type of speakers invited to come.

Many of the speakers who minister at Chapel seem to have a difficult time connecting with college students. Though the theology may be spot-on, old-fashioned style messages and dry, uninspired preaching leaves a disconnect between the speakers’ messages and the students.

I remember two Chapel speakers who inspired me with their messages.

Nicole Bromley came to speak at Chapel about human trafficking and her organization One Voice. I remember feeling overwhelmed by her message of hope and healing through Jesus Christ. Her experiences with human trafficking in foreign countries kept the students engaged through the entire message.

I left that service inspired to help those who have been affected by human trafficking and to bring positivity to every encounter I have with others because you never know what people are going through.

In my junior year, Trudy Cathy White, Truett Cathy’s daughter, also came to speak at Chapel. Her message was genuine and related to things college students were going through – entering the work force, managing school and the importance of relying on God’s plan.

“I liked her message. She talked about her dad and how the business started. It was interesting and different,” junior economics major Fiorella Gamarra said.

Having a variety of speakers, including a variety in gender, would help bring students to the service regularly.

The Jason Lovins Band, a Christian band, came to perform this year at Chapel, which is exactly the service college students are looking for – something that connects to them and breeds excitement in them to worship. I wish we had more services like the ones mentioned, with variety, excitement and a spiritually challenging message.

Maggie Pruitt
Sports Editor
maggie.pruitt@hawks.shorter.edu

With the short miss, Taylor, and the Shorter men’s basketball team, headed into overtime against Georgia Tech. Yes, the Division I ACC school, that Georgia Tech. Shorter – the tiny, Christian, DII school in Rome, Ga. – was actually going into overtime with the Yellow Jackets.  As a basketball fan and student athlete at Shorter, I was ecstatic.

My brother and I attended the game with the hopes that the Hawks could upset the Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

Taylor, the 5’10 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., led the Hawks with 37 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds that night. Taylor steered the Hawks into overtime, but the team lost 95 to 87 in the end.

Despite the loss, the team would enter into the season feeling strong, and Taylor would embark on a journey few could have predicted…

Taylor was born in Brooklyn and then migrated to the metro-Atlanta area. After finishing high school at Wheeler HS in Marietta, Ga., Taylor decided to play college basketball at Florida International University (FIU) under head coach and NBA legend Isiah Thomas.

Making the decision to play at FIU over other top programs was based on the coach.

“It was an honor being coached by Isiah. I had offers to go to ACC and SEC schools, but I wanted to be coached by a hall of famer,” Taylor said.

Thomas eventually parted ways with Florida International, as did Taylor. The mellow, but focused guard decided to take time and focus on what he really wanted to do, which was to play basketball.

Finding his way to Shorter, Taylor has done more than just play basketball for the Hawks: He has put Shorter on the map.

Leading the NCAA in scoring,     Taylor has shattered critics’ remarks about guards under 6 feet tall. After scoring 62 points in a home game against Carver College, which broke the GSC’s standing record of 51, Taylor proved that he was a scorer, especially when he was hitting threes over other players 6 inches taller than him.

At that game, I was sitting in my usual spot behind the bench, and I could just feel the magic in the Winthrop-King Centre. Magic. That was what it was like to watch Taylor that night. Every time the Hawks got a stop on defense, Taylor would call for the ball and his teammates would get it to him. Everyone in the gym knew the ball was going to him, and every time he hit another shot, usually a difficult fade away or a three in front on someone’s face, the crowd would explode with cheers.

“I felt like I was the only guy in the gym that night,” Taylor said, adding it was the most memorable part of the season so far.

Many basketball players would be overdramatic with hand signs or emotional yells when shooting like that occurred at home, but not Taylor. I have been to almost every home game this season, and I have never seen or heard Taylor be an obnoxious or arrogant player. Complaining to the refs? No. Yelling at teammates? Nope. Fighting with the other team? Never.

Fans can see that Taylor has matured to be an athlete with a desire to do whatever it takes to win, regardless of who is guarding him and how tall they are.

This season has been a highlight-reel for the senior, and the basketball nation has noticed. Newsweek writer John Walters and NCAA writer Wayne Cavadi both compared Taylor to the Boston Celtics’ All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, who is also under 6 feet tall.

“It is an honor to be compared to someone in the NBA. I feel like he plays just as hard as me, and we have a shared desire to be unstopped. Short guys are underestimated,” Taylor chuckled.

Taylor and Thomas are the type of players youth look up to because they challenge the “status quo” of basketball. You don’t have to be tall to pla
y the game, and if you think you do, then watch these guys play.

After surpassing the 1,000-point mark in December 2016 (after only two seasons, might I add), Taylor has proven his play is mightier than his size.

But, his scoring ability and leadership would not be enough to lead the Hawks past the first round of the GSC Tournament. The Hawks fell to the Delta State Statesmen, 93-85. This is the third consecutive year the men’s team has lost in the first round of the conference tournament.

Junior guard Warren Helligar, who transferred to SU this season and helped the Hawks off the bench, said the season has taught him many lessons.

“I loved being around my team. This season was a really good learning experience,” Helligar said.

Despite the loss in the postseason, the Hawks hope to advance farther next year.

As for Taylor, you may see him playing in the NBA Development League, working on fufilling his dream of making it to the NBA.

Maggie Pruitt
Sports Editor
maggie.pruitt@hawks.shorter.edu

“I have big goals. I want to be the best player in the world.”

Alex Morgan, one of the star strikers of the USWNT, recently announced her move to the French club, Olympique Lyonnais, which is one of the most high-volume women’s clubs in the world.  Success is part of this club’s history – 14 first division titles, three UEFA women’s Champions League trophies and eight domestic cups (Athena Sports).

Morgan is also a part of the Orlando Pride which is in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The league was established in 2013 after replacing the Women’s Professional Soccer league. The NWSL is home to many of the U.S. Women’ s National Team (USWNT) players, as well as several international players.  There are prestigious clubs outside of the U.S. that also have women’s teams.

Morgan released a statement on Twitter explaining her reasoning behind the unexpected move.  She hopes interaction with the new club will challenge her in new ways and evolve her overall play.

“I have big goals. I want to be the best player in the United States … the best player in the world.,” Morgan said in her statement in The Players’ Tribune.

Morgan’s move may have sparked a new wave of players relocating to Europe.  Heather O’Reilly and Crystal Dunn are two other players migrating to European club teams.

O’Reilly retired from the USWNT and international soccer in 2016 but wished to continue playing club.  The 32-year-old veteran midfielder and long-time leader on the USWNT announced her move to join the Arsenal Ladies in January.

Dunn, who was the runner-up for U.S. Soccer’s Female Player of the Year, played for the Washington Spirit in the NWSL but left in early January to sign with Chelsea, located in Fulham, England.

Three high-profile players leave their U.S. club teams to play with other women from around the world, but fans of the game wonder why.  Could compensation play a factor?  The NWSL has a starting salary of $7,200 and a maximum salary of $39,700.  For many players, the physical stress is not worth the money they are paid as club players.

In addition, the salaries are immensely less than what American male players make on the U.S. National Team and in Major League Soccer (But, that’s a different issue).  Since 2013, the NWSL has seen about 50 players retire early, and for many of those players, it is due to their pay, according to Fox Sports.

For Morgan, O’Reilly and Dunn, the decision to move was probably influenced by multiple factors.

“I think part of it is for money, but also to help improve their play,” senior nursing major Julia Raymond said.

Having three of the top American players leave to play overseas may affect the NWSL, but Morgan and Dunn will each return to their club teams once their contracts are up with their foreign counterparts.