Grogan inks with Louisiana College

Patterson High standout point guard Taylan Grogan had his dream come true Friday, signing a national letter of intent to play college basketball at Louisiana College in Pineville.
But the Class 3A All-State point guard still has a chip on his shoulder.
The sharpshooter often faced defenses designed to stop him this season, but he excelled anyway, averaging 16 points per game. Grogan, a second-team Louisiana Sports Writers Association all-state selection this season, capped his senior season as the District 8-3A Most Valuable Player, too.
He helped lead the Lumberjacks to a 12-0 district record and a 23-5 overall mark with an appearance in the Class 3A quarterfinals. The Lumberjacks fell to eventual state runner-up Wossman, 65-58.
Grogan is thrilled with his signing.
“It feels great,” he said. “All the hard work I put in since I was little has paid off. But the work ain’t over with yet. I still have dreams of making the league (NBA).”
Patterson basketball coach Ryan Taylor, also a Louisiana College basketball product, said Grogan’s game has developed a lot during his high school career.
“He went through a lot this season being our best shooter and facing box-and-one defenses where he had a guy attached to him every step he took,” Taylor said. “But he handled it well, and the sky is the limit for him. The kid is a gym rat. He works really hard, and he also has great athletic ability. He plays above the rim.”
But recruiting was surprisingly quiet for the highly-decorated player.
“I don’t have a good answer for that,” Taylor said. “He has decent size (5-feet, 11 inches), a complete game and he’s a good kid. We would see the big schools looking at him the last couple seasons, but for whatever reason, most didn’t offer. But like I told him, at LC, he will play a lot of those teams, and he can show them what they passed on. The smaller schools — the Div-IIs, NAIAs — play good basketball. We just don’t see them on TV every week.”
The Wildcats still had to beat out other suitors for Grogan, including Baton Rouge Community College and a few out-of-state junior colleges.
“But LC sold me with the home visit, and they came to school to visit, too,” Grogan said. “They’re also a four-year school, and they needed point guard help so I can play early.”
Taylor, a Louisiana College basketball product, said he thinks Grogan can play right away.
“I’m just glad that he found a place that he likes,” Taylor said. “That’s our goal, and I think he’s a good fit. He’s also going to get a good education, and that’s the important part.”
Coach Reni Mason, who leads the private Baptist college’s basketball program, said in a news release that Grogan is an excellent addition to the recruiting class.
“He is a high character kid from a great family,” Mason said. “He’s an athletic guard that plays above the rim, and that athleticism is going to help us create turnovers defensively as well. He’s the kind of player that is going to push for playing time this season.”