Donald Taylor
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| Current team: Illinois (2006-) | ||||||
| Former school(s): none | ||||||
| High School: MacArthur (2001-05) | ||||||
Donald Taylor is a former quizbowl player for the University of Illinois.
High school career
While playing for the MacArthur Generals, Taylor was widely considered one of the elite players in the state, earning consensus First Team All-State honors as a junior and a senior. He was one of the many great players to play for legendary coach Tom Durbin at MacArthur.
Taylor's junior year saw his MacArthur team win their sectional and qualify for the 2004 IHSA State Championship Tournament. The team did not advance from their formidable pool that included Auburn and Stevenson.
Taylor twice qualified for the finals of the New Trier Scobol Solo, and finished ninth both times. His first appearance in the finals was as a sophomore, making him one of the few sophomores to qualify for the finals. His second appearance was his senior year, in which he appeared in military fatigues, as later that evening he would be appearing at his school's football game as the mascot.
The 2005 Generals seemed to be on schedule to repeat as sectional champions and take the next step in the State Tournament, when an unreal event stopped them. Playing at Carbondale, MacArthur had a five point lead with one question to play. When Carbondale gave an incorrect answer, Taylor immediately gave another incorrect answer to prevent a teammate from giving a correct answer, and potentially allowing Carbondale to sweep a rebounded bonus. After the match, it was discovered that the score on the board was in error, and that MacArthur was in fact losing by five points. Carbondale won its final match and advanced to the State Tournament.
As a senior, Taylor was named to Team Illinois, and competed at the Panasonic Academic Challenge. His play was crucial in guiding Illinois to a third place finish in the tournament.