She might not have that household name just yet, but give it time.
Very shortly, a lot of people in the Hudson County basketball scene – and beyond – are going to be talking about Zyearah Taylor-Gaston.
Taylor-Gaston is a freshman on the St. Anthony girls’ basketball team. She’s a Jersey City girl, a product of P.S. 12. She’s been playing basketball since she was 9 years old, after she watched her cousin, Jadela Gaston, play at Lincoln a few years ago.
“I wanted to play like her,” young Zyearah said. “I wanted to learn all the moves and stuff. I wanted to learn how to dribble and shoot. After seeing her, I wanted to play in the WNBA. She just always inspired me. I always went outside to play basketball, because I wanted to be like her.”
At P.S. 12, Taylor-Gaston helped her team win the Jersey City public schools championship. She was destined to play high school basketball – and elected to attend St. Anthony.
“I was scared and nervous to play at first,” Taylor-Gaston said.
But St. Anthony second-year head coach Cleveland Eatman knew that Taylor-Gaston was the real deal. In fact, Eatman saw Taylor-Gaston play in grammar school and realized then that she was a star in the making.
“I met her when she was in seventh grade,” Eatman said. “I knew that she had pretty good size for a guard [5-foot-7] and had long arms. I thought she had a lot of potential.”
When she arrived at St. Anthony, Taylor-Gaston was unsure of how she was going to fit in.
“But my first game turned out to be better than I thought it would be,” Taylor-Gaston said. “It gave me confidence and made me realize that I could do this.”
However, no one could have predicted the outburst that the Friar freshman has enjoyed recently. In her last three games, Taylor-Gaston scored 20 in a loss to Hudson Catholic, exploded for 37 points and seven rebounds in a loss to St. Dominic Academy and had 28 points, six rebounds and six assists in a win over University Charter.
For her efforts, the fabulous Friar freshman has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Eatman has noticed a change in his star freshman in recent weeks.
“I think she’s finally getting to understand the speed of the game,” Eatman said. “She’s finally figuring out what she needs to get done and stepping it up to another level. She’s more comfortable in her role. When she first came in, she was strictly a jump shooter, but now she’s learning that she can take the ball to the basket and either make shots or get to the [foul] line. She’s starting to get more confidence.”
Eatman said that he is trying to make Taylor-Gaston even more of an offensive threat.
“I’m coaching her constantly to shoot the ball,” Eatman said. “So many times, she makes a great pass and the other player can’t finish. She gives herself up to unwillingly and that hurts us. She needs to be more aggressive.”
That’s a message that Taylor-Gaston seems to understand.
“Everyone is telling me to be more aggressive,” Taylor-Gaston said. “They tell me to go to the basket more. If I have a shot, I should take it. I feel good with that.”
Taylor-Gaston said that she was floored by getting 37 points in a game, an unthinkable total for a freshman.
“That 37 shocked me,” Taylor-Gaston said. “I knew I could do it, if I just had the right motivation. I’m handling things better now. I’m making my shots, making my free throws. This all just boosts my confidence.”
Eatman believes that the best is yet to come for the youngster.
“To be honest, she doesn’t have that scorer’s mentality yet,” Eatman said. “She passes the ball way too much. She’s an excellent passer, but we need her to score. She got that message last week. She’s doing that more.”
When you have a string of averaging 28.5 points per game, that’s a sign Taylor-Gaston is breaking out.
Eatman believes that Taylor-Gaston is a top flight talent.
“She’s worked on either hand and is now shooting well from the 3-point line [nine 3-point baskets in the last three games],” Eatman said. “She has a shot to be a very good one.”
Taylor-Gaston just wants to keep improving. She’s serious about that WNBA goal, but realizes that there are three years left of high school, then college ahead of her. Right now, Taylor-Gaston is playing herself into a college product.
“I don’t know what college I want to go to yet, but I definitely want to play in college somewhere,” Taylor-Gaston said. “I know I have work to do, work on my jump shot, work on my handle and my form. I just hope that people pay attention to me.”
Earning an honor like being the top athlete in a week in a competitive world such as Hudson County athletics is bound to help that name get out there more. Zyearah Taylor-Gaston (who is not related to former Friar boys’ standout and Fordham University great Chris Gaston) is well on her way to getting the recognition she craves.
“It makes me feel good,” Taylor-Gaston said. “I want to people to notice me.”
With weeks like the one she just experienced, that’s a complete guarantee. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.