News

Sparkle Taylor Joins the UMMC Squad

The basketball club UMMC signed a contract with a 28-year-old American basketball player Sparkle Taylor. As part of the “Foxes”, Sparkle will wear number 12. Let's get acquainted with the “newcomer” of our team.

Sparkle Taylor

Date of birth: July 28, 1995 (28 years old)

Place of birth: Flint (Michigan, USA)

Height: 175 cm

Position: small forward

Main achievements:

Champion of Poland 2023 and MVP of this Polish Championship final. She entered the Top 5 players of the 2022/23 season of the Polish Championship.

Player of the Year for the 2021/22 season in Romania. In all three seasons, she was among the top 5 best scorers in the Spanish Championship.

Previous clubs:

2023/24 Dynamo (Novosibirsk region)

2022/23 AZS UMCS Lublin (Poland)

2022 WNBA Chicago Sky (USA)

2021/22 Satu Mare (Romania)

2018/21 Gran Canaria (Spain)

Averages per game: 14.7 points, 4,8 rebounds and 1.6 assists.  

Sparkle, welcome to our team! Tell us a little about yourself, where were you born and brought up?

-       Thank you! I was born and raised in the West of the USA, in Flint, Michigan.

  How did you start playing basketball?

-       I started playing when I was young, with my uncle. I grew up in a poor city, but we had a basketball hoop, I just took the ball and started to shoot every day - that’s how I fell in love with basketball.

This is your first season in Russia, before that you became MVP of the Polish championship final and entered the Top 5 players of the 2022/23 season, tell us about it, please.

- It was a great experience and I got a chance to play with some amazing people. The competition was serious, and we had to work hard. Of course, I was happy to get MVP at the finals. We focused on basketball, and, having united, we became national champions. This is priceless.

You made the decision to leave Dynamo after half a season, how did your teammates react to the news of your departure?

- I think they were upset that I left, but they understand and wish me luck. I also wish them all the best.

You have been to Russia for six months now, tell us about your impressions.

-       I like Russia. The league is very competitive and strong, which I like. Every team is doing well wanting to win. I like the cities, the culture and the food.

By the way, speaking about food. Do you have already a favorite Russian dish?

-       Yes! I really love cottage cheese cakes. In Russia, people have it as a main course for breakfast, but it seems to me that it’s like a dessert.

Have you had a chance to see Yekaterinburg?

-       No, but I’m looking forward to it.

What do you know about BC UMMC?

-       I know a lot of great WNBA players from America played here. Deanna Nolan played here. We are from the same city. Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Sue Bird, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot – it’s just the honor to put on this jersey, but not only this reason, also because the club wins many victories every season. A great basketball team, a great club, great professionals!

What are your expectations from this season in the squad of the “Foxes”?

-       To give our best every game, go strong, work hard, to stay focused on every opponent every game, keep the positive unity, bring a lot of energy on the court and just do our best.

We wish Sparkle Taylor successful games and new victories in the squad of our team!