The story behind the coach

About Adam Taylor

Player. Shooter. College coach. Teacher. Camp director. And now the person responsible for carrying the Swish shooting legacy forward.

BRING SWISH 22 TO YOUR GYM
“I'm just a Southern boy who grew up in northeast Oklahoma. I was told I would never amount to much as a player, that I would never be able to shoot, that I would never be tall enough to play college basketball, and that I would never be able to coach college basketball. I used every one of those statements as motivation. My faith taught me to keep looking for a way, a solution, and a next step.”— Adam Taylor
From northeast Oklahoma

I learned early that somebody else's opinion did not have to become my future.

I spent most of my childhood in rural Oklahoma, in the Liberty Mounds community after my family moved out of Tulsa. My parents worked hard, built businesses, served people, and taught my sister and me about faith, character, perseverance, and responsibility.

There were also people along the way who did not see much potential in me. I was told I would never go to college, never play college basketball, never become a great shooter because of my size, and never coach college basketball. Those words hurt, but over time they became fuel.

I believed there had to be a way forward. I kept working, kept learning, and kept looking for solutions. Basketball became one of the places where I learned that consistent work, good teaching, faith, and persistence can change what seems possible.

I eventually played college basketball, became a high-percentage shooter, earned three college degrees, coached at the NCAA and NAIA levels, served as a college head coach, and continued building camps and teaching players.

Adam Taylor with players at a basketball campAdam Taylor teaching shooting to players in a gym
48%College three-point shooting percentage listed in Adam's story
Nearly 90%College free-throw percentage listed in Adam's story
3 DegreesTwo bachelor's degrees and one master's degree
Since 1991Years of basketball camp involvement and teaching experience
A coaching life

The goal was never simply to know basketball. It was to learn how to teach it.

Adam's path has included college playing, NCAA and NAIA coaching, head-coaching responsibilities, high-school coaching and teaching, camps, clinics, player development, and decades of studying the game.

Faith & Character

Faith, character, family, coaches, mentors, and perseverance have shaped the way Adam teaches players and coaches.

Teaching the Game

The emphasis is on making basketball understandable: clear language, purposeful repetitions, decision-making, and habits players can continue after the clinic.

Helping Players Reach Their Potential

The current mission is simple: help coaches with the game and help players become the best version of themselves on and off the court.

Adam Taylor with his son and Jeannie Nordland
Continuing the Swish legacy

A new chapter for a shooting system that had already impacted generations.

Coach Tom Nordland created the original Swish shooting series and built a body of work around helping players understand and improve the way they shoot the basketball.

In June 2025, Adam Taylor Basketball LLC, led by Head Coach Adam Taylor, acquired Swish 22 and the Swish intellectual property with the goal of continuing Coach Nordland\'s teaching legacy while building new clinics, player resources, workouts, plans, mindset training, character development, and broader basketball education around it.

The photo at left was taken on the day the agreement was signed. It shows Adam, his son, and Jeannie Nordland, Coach Tom Nordland's widow — a personal moment marking the continuation of the Swish legacy.

Swish 22 honors the original work while continuing to develop new resources for today's players and coaches.

THE PERSONAL STORY BEHIND THE 2025 SWISH TRANSITION

How Coach Tom Nordland's legacy was passed forward.

For Adam, acquiring Swish 22 was about honoring the teaching of Coach Tom Nordland and carrying the work into the next generation. The path to that decision began years earlier.

01 • STAYING CONNECTED

Years of continued contact

After Coach Nordland passed away, Adam Taylor and Tom's wife, Jeannie Nordland, stayed in contact over the ensuing years. Their communication kept alive a personal connection to Tom and his work.

02 • A SUNDAY MORNING EMAIL

Could someone carry the legacy forward?

One Sunday morning, Adam emailed Jeannie to ask whether she would ever consider allowing someone to carry Coach Nordland's Swish 22 legacy into the next generation.

03 • A SAME-DAY RESPONSE

Jeannie had already thought of Adam.

Later that afternoon, she emailed back. As Adam remembers it, Jeannie told him that she had already been thinking of Adam himself for that very role. This is a paraphrase of Adam's account, not a verbatim quotation from the email.

04 • JUNE 2025

A new chapter entrusted to the next generation.

Through further communication, prayer, careful consideration and support, Adam Taylor Basketball LLC, led by Head Coach Adam Taylor, acquired Swish 22 and the legacy materials in June 2025.

Preserve the foundation. Honor the founder. Carry the torch. The original Swish teaching remains at the heart of the program, while new shooting clinics and player development resources are created for today's athletes, families and coaches.
On the floor

Real camps. Real gyms. Real teaching.

These are photos from Adam Taylor basketball camps and shooting instruction.

Bring the story into your gym

Host a Swish 22 Shooting Clinic.

One day. Three focused hours. Shooting instruction, purposeful repetitions, player resources, and a teaching framework your players can keep using.

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