ELON, N.C. – Looking for a home to finish off his college basketball career, a familiar face in a new place caught Sean Halloran's attention. 

Fresh off a successful four-year stint at Belmont Abbey College, Halloran was hoping for an opportunity to fulfill his dream of playing at the Division I level. That opportunity came from none other than the man who first coached him at Belmont Abbey – Billy Taylor.  

Taylor was named Elon's head coach in April 2022. Shortly after, Halloran rejoined his former coach and committed to the Phoenix. 

"Once he recruited me to play again, it was a full circle moment," Halloran said. "It was a little deja vu, but it just felt right."

Halloran was a star on the court in his lone season donning the maroon and gold but that was not the end of his tenure with the program. Though his days of playing for Taylor may be over, Halloran still has a seat on the bench near his head coach as a member of his staff. 

The Abbey
Halloran's first exposure to basketball predated his playing days. Growing up in Orlando, Halloran remembers attending his older brother's basketball games at the YMCA. 

"My early memories of basketball are me running around during his games in timeouts stealing the ball from the referee [and] going to try and shoot shots," Halloran laughed.

Halloran began playing the game himself and was on a travel team during his sophomore year of high school that allowed him to play showcase tournaments in front of college coaches. 

Although he received interest, few programs offered Halloran a scholarship. One of the programs that did offer Halloran was Belmont Abbey, whose assistant coach Ryan Saunders – now an assistant at Elon – attended the same high school as Halloran. 

Taylor identified point guard as a top priority for the program, and after watching Halloran compete at AAU Nationals in Orlando, he believed Halloran would be a good option to fill the role. 

"I was really impressed with how he played and how he read the floor," Taylor recalled. "As we went and dug deeper and watched the film on him and saw him with his high school team, we saw his ability to manipulate the game with his passing and his vision."
Confident Halloran could help Belmont Abbey right away, Taylor and Saunders offered him a scholarship. Halloran already liked the coaching staff, but after visiting Belmont Abbey's campus, he was sold.

"They were such a family-oriented staff, and I went on a nice weekend, so it sold me a little bit on North Carolina and the weather," Halloran said. "I think the weather got me and the coaches got me." 

Due to limited depth at the point guard position, Halloran knew he had a chance to make an immediate impact at Belmont Abbey. He worked hard during fall workouts and earned a starting spot. 

Early on, Halloran embraced Taylor's tutelage, which helped make the transition to the college level enjoyable and prosperous. 

"[Taylor] took me under his wing, which was something I'm extremely grateful for," Halloran said. 

"Sean and I still joke about a lot of those times that we spent together just watching film in my office his freshman year," Taylor added. "We watched film almost daily to really try to shorten the learning curve for him to be successful as a point guard at the college level. 

During his freshman campaign, Halloran averaged just over 10 points per game and led the team in assists and steals. He helped guide the team to 23 victories and a spot in the championship game of their conference tournament.

Following Halloran's freshman season, Taylor took a job as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa. However, Halloran built on what he learned from Taylor over the next three years at Belmont Abbey. 

"It was a standard that I learned early on in my career from coach Taylor," Halloran said. "I tried to uphold that standard a little bit. We were really, really good my freshman year and we were able to uphold that through my senior year, which was awesome."

Reunited
Although he was no longer Halloran's coach, Taylor stayed in touch with his former point guard after taking the job at Iowa. Saunders stayed on at Belmont Abbey for another year after Taylor's departure and kept Taylor updated on Halloran's development. 

"It's almost like you're supposed to forget about those relationships, but obviously Sean was someone that I was very close to," Taylor said. 

At the conclusion of his senior season, Halloran was looking to take a step up to the Division I level. When Taylor was hired to be Elon's head coach, the connection between the two was rekindled.  

"Hearing from coach Taylor again was really funny," Halloran said. "It was kind of like a relationship that picked up where it left off."

"It was really cool for us to be able to just pick up right where we left off relationship wise," Taylor added. "And there was no gap. There was no awkward silence. There was no, 'Hey, coach, I want to do it this way.' We were immediately on the same page." 

Halloran and Belmont Abbey teammate John Bowen III both committed to Elon and reunited with the coach who recruited them to play college basketball. Adding Halloran and Bowen was important not only because of their talents on the court but they were also critical pieces in establishing Taylor's culture at Elon. 

"It was important for us to stay true to our values in terms of character being an important piece of what we wanted to accomplish," Taylor said. "[Sean is] an unbelievable culture guy. It was really like having another coach on the floor, another coach in the locker room with his experience, knowing our system, understanding what we wanted, how we wanted to play." 

In his lone season as the point guard for the maroon and gold, Halloran started in all 32 games and led the team in scoring, assists and steals. He scored in double figures on 26 occasions and tied the program's Division I record for steals in a single season. 
 
"Sean was exceedingly terrific last year in terms of what he did on the court for us," Taylor said. "He played terrific in terms of his scoring, he stole the basketball, he guarded, he did so many different things. He did everything for us."

For Halloran, competing with Elon fulfilled a goal he had ever since he started playing basketball. 

"Getting to this level was my dream all along," Halloran said. "I had a good career at Division II. I won a lot of games, but I knew it would always be a hole after my career if I wasn't able to  uphold that at this level as well."

New Spot On The Bench
With his playing days behind him, Halloran was not yet ready to step away from the game. 

"I've always wanted to coach," Halloran said. "I've told coach Taylor that from my freshman year. I've always wanted to get into coaching. They were a big part of that with how they operated, how they came to the office. It was something that intrigued me in the professional world."

Halloran began reaching out to coaches following Elon's season to see if he could find a graduate assistant coaching position. However, when a spot opened up on Elon's staff, Halloran got a call from Taylor. 

"He said I was being considered, and probably three or four days after that, he offered me the job," Halloran said.

"It was crazy. I was waiting months for a job, and then it happened in a week," Halloran added. 

Taylor was actively helping Halloran in his job search prior to the opening on his staff. When the Director of Basketball Operations position became available, Taylor didn't have to think twice about making Halloran an offer. 

"It was a no-brainer for me," Taylor said. "Sean was a perfect fit for what we needed."
 
Halloran was excited to stay with the program and was grateful for the opportunity from his longtime mentor. 

"It solidified everything that I've done in years past for him," Halloran said. 

"I didn't win him a lot of games or championships like I told him I would and he still lets me know to this day that I didn't do that," Halloran laughed. "But obviously, him hiring me was very big for me."

Halloran faced a learning curve with the position as it centers around important administrative responsibilities rather than traditional coaching duties. Despite it being a new role, Taylor said Halloran has adjusted nicely. 

"The Director of Operations is a great entry point because you get a chance to learn and interact with so many different individuals on campus," Taylor said. "Sometimes as a student-athlete, you can get tunnel vision in terms of like, 'Hey, I'm just showing up to the gym and I'm going to do my job and get my teammates ready and just go play.' As Director of Operations, you recognize everything that goes into putting together a successful program."

Taylor knows what the Director of Basketball Operations role takes – he served in the role in his first of two stints at Iowa from 2013-16. With his head coach having experience in the position, Halloran relied heavily on Taylor throughout his first year. 

"He's helping me out so much. He understands what this role entails and what's got to get done," Halloran said. "He's kind of an arm around my shoulder a little bit with this role."

Halloran's role with the team might now be different, but once games begin, he returns to what he has always known and loved about the game. From his new spot on the bench, he finds himself getting swept up in the spirit of competition quite often.  

"I was a fiery guy when I was on the court. I was always talking, so now that I'm on the bench, I've got to watch myself a little bit," Halloran laughed. 

Although he has only been with the program for two years, Halloran knows he has found a special home at Elon. 

"It's a family-knit group around here," Halloran said. "There's been great people at the university ever since I've been here. And obviously our basketball program is shipping upwards. It's a great program."

Nobody has had a better seat to watch Halloran's growth than Taylor. From recruiting him to Belmont Abbey to offering him a spot on his coaching staff, Taylor has seen firsthand how Halloran's dedication, work ethic and passion for the game has blossomed.  

"I'm unbelievably proud of him to see just the progress from Belmont Abbey all the way through now to Elon," Taylor said. "I'm just so excited about his career trajectory and his ability to really make a huge impact in this profession."

"Sean got into it for the right reasons because he wanted to help student-athletes the same way he's been helped along the way from the coaches from high school and youth ball level all the way through college," Taylor added. "I'm excited for him to be able to be that impactful ambassador for the game. And I think he's got a really bright coaching future. As he continues to learn and develop, he's going to do wonderful things in this business. I'm excited to watch him grow."

Halloran's career in college basketball began with Taylor's belief in him as a player. Six years later, Halloran is still learning from his former head coach turned colleague and close friend. 

"Our relationship will always stay the same," Halloran said. "That's my man. That's my guy. He's been great for me."
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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