By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
Before most of Brown County rolls out of bed, Greg Taggart and Mike Ayers are already dripping with sweat.
With little talk between the two, just about the only sound to be heard is the rhythmic dribbling and shooting of a basketball.
At 62 years old, their life circumstances have changed, but the game they loved as teenagers hasn’t.
“I’ll continue to do this as long as I have wheels. We enjoy it. It’s a way to get up in the morning and move,” Ayers said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]On a near-daily basis, the duo can be found shooting three-pointers at the Nashville YMCA, starting at 5:30 a.m.
They set out to improve upon their personal bests.
“We shoot from five spots around the arc, 20 shots from each spot and see how many we can hit out of 100,” Ayers said.
“We try to get better individually every day, but, no, we don’t compete.”
Both grew up in Brown County where they met in seventh grade and quickly bonded as teammates.
From that point on they consistently practiced, played, and competed with each other. As multi-sport athletes, they enjoyed track, cross-country, and of course basketball, Taggart said.
Graduating from BCHS in 1974, both Taggart and Ayers played under coach Rudy Crabtree.
“He’s the one that taught both of us to play basketball. He would step down from the varsity level and show the junior high how to shoot the ball and those kinds of things. I have a great deal of respect for him,” Ayers said.
The two teammates split ways after high school and only recently rejoined in the last two years.
“I used to live in Indianapolis for a number of years and when I retired from my career I moved back here. Greg and I hooked up again as old buddies and both joined the YMCA to play basketball. It’s enjoyable and fun to be together,” Ayers said.
Individually, they attempt to score as many three-pointers in a row as they can.
With no signs of losing a step in their last 44 years, both would give the current BCHS varsity roster trouble from the three-point line.
“I’m not close to him yet. I hit my best yesterday with 82 out of 100. He hits 95, 98 out of 100, and one morning he hit 106 in a row, three-pointers,” Taggart said.
However, skill isn’t the only necessary component to basketball, Ayers said.
“We had no weight program. … I was 135 pounds when I graduated. … I had skills, but I didn’t have the strength to play college basketball,” he said
“The kids who are growing up and playing high school basketball should do the workouts and get stronger. Skills are great, but you need to be strong enough to use them.”
