Former Junction City High School boys basketball coach Carl Taylor has died.  Taylor had been battling complications from diabetes.

He guided the Blue Jay basketball program in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, taking one team to the Class 6A State Tournament.  In addition to serving as a teacher at the senior high school, Taylor also coached the Lady Jay softball team for a portion of his time at JCHS.

Former Blue Jay basketball player and current JCHS Athletic Director Matt Westerhaus remembered his coach, noting Taylor will be missed. “High expectations, demanded a lot out of his players. You knew where you stood with Coach Taylor, and once you got past that you realized that he was a big teddy bear inside and cared for everybody in the program. So he’s going to be missed.”

After leaving Junction City Taylor later coached for many years at Wichita Southeast High School where he guided the Golden Buffaloes to three state titles, and a series of other high finishes in the Class 6A State Basketball Tournaments.