Jimmy Taylor's first love is basketball and that sport will always hold the biggest part of his athletic heart.

But one can't help but wonder what Taylor, a Keystone Oaks High School senior, could have done on the tennis court had he instead become infatuated with that sport.

Taylor, a 6-foot-1 guard on the basketball court, was an all-section performer for the Golden Eagles this past season, averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game that ranked among the top 20 in the WPIAL. He helped lead KO to the PIAA Class AAA playoffs and is being recruited by several local colleges to play guard.

"I've always loved basketball," Taylor said.

Yet it is with tennis that Taylor has shined this spring. The Eagles' first singles player, he did not lose a match during the regular season in team play in leading Keystone Oaks to an 11-3 record in Section 5-AA play. The Eagles won their first-round match in the WPIAL Class AA team tournament Monday and were to play top-seed Sewickley Academy in the quarterfinals yesterday.

But Taylor shined individually, too. He won the Section 5-AA singles tournament last month and advanced to the semifinals of the WPIAL Class AA singles tournament.

"I tell his parents he would have been a better tennis player than a basketball player," KO tennis coach Mike Belmont said. "He's just never had any real formal training, and he doesn't play any other time than during the season.

"He does things with a tennis racket you can't really teach and has a knack for the sport you can't really teach. You see him putting points together that are astonishing -- and all this without any training and no lessons over the winter or summer? He just figures it out on his own. He beats kids who have put a lot more time into the game than he has."

At the WPIAL singles tournament, Taylor sustained his only defeats of the spring -- losing to top-seeded Matt Hoch of Sewickley Academy in the semifinals and to Sewickley Academy's Vik Sunder, the No. 3 seed, in the consolation match. Both are experienced tournament players who have USTA rankings and play year-round.

Taylor wasn't even sure he was going to come out for the team during each of the past two seasons, but each time he became a WPIAL tournament qualifier.

This spring, he wanted to focus on making the proper decision as to where to attend college, and last season he didn't come out for the team initially because he was loyal to former coach Melissa Fabian, whom had convinced him to play in the first place two years earlier.

"He's just a phenomenal athlete overall," said Belmont, who played tennis at Duquesne University and believes that Taylor could have also been a Division I college player if he had ever focused on and committed to tennis.

As it is, Taylor's competitive tennis career ends this week, and he will play college basketball starting this fall. Penn State-Altoona, LaRoche and Slippery Rock are among the schools he might attend. Will he pick up a racket again?

"I might with my friends and stuff," Taylor said. "We get out on the courts, and I can definitely hit with them. I'm not giving it up forever; I will hit if the opportunity comes."

Taylor wasn't the only KO player to have a good season. Junior Bobby Svidron played second singles, advancing to the section quarterfinals in singles and teaming with Taylor to play in the section doubles championship match, qualifying for the WPIAL doubles tournament last week.

"[Svidron] is much improved this season," Belmont said.

Junior Chad Reis is another multi-sport athlete who has great natural talent but has not had formal tennis training. Also a soccer player for Keystone Oaks, Reis, who is 6 feet 3, plays third singles.

"I feel I have the best athletes of any team in our section," Belmont said.

Junior Tom Maloney and freshman Arun Muthiah played first doubles and junior Justin Lasko, sophomore Jim Wisniewski and sophomore Brendan Helt rotated into second doubles as well as other spots in the lineup.

After not making the playoffs last season, Keystone Oaks improved despite having only one senior in the lineup.

"It's been a pretty cool season," Taylor said.