A former player for Stan Heath, Oronde Taliaferro (O-ron-day Ta-la-fair-o) is in his sixth season as an assistant under his former head coach, including his fifth under Heath at Arkansas. 

            Taliaferro, who is also UA’s recruiting coordinator, has been named by Rivals.com as one of the top 25 recruiters in the nation.

            After playing for Heath at Wayne State University in Detroit, Taliaferro, following a very successful prep coaching stint, also in Detroit, was a part of Heath's staff at Kent State and the great run the Golden Flashes had in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

            He was back in the NCAA Tournament last year, helping Arkansas return to the post-season for the first time since 2001.

                One of his players, guard Ronnie Brewer, earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a sophomore and junior, and was the 14^th pick by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. Another one of his guards, Eric Ferguson, ended his career last season fourth on Arkansas’ all-time list for assists, sixth in three-point goals made, 11^th in steals and 27^th in scoring. Yet another, Dontell Jefferson, was sixth in the SEC in assists.

            While with Heath at Kent State, Taliaferro helped guide the Golden Flashes to a 30-6 record, a berth in the Elite Eight and within one win of the Final Four, and the Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament championships. Kent led the MAC in scoring defense (64.0 ppg), scoring margin (+11.9 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.418), rebounding margin (+5.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24) while also ranking second in three-point field goal percentage defense (.326) and turnover margin (+2.78).

            Taliaferro went to KSU after five years as the boys varsity head coach at Detroit Central High School where his teams posted a combined record of 101-25. During the 1998 season, he guided Central to a 23-4 record and the Class A state championship in earning Detroit News & Free Press "Dream Team" Coach of the Year honors.

            A two-time Public School League Coach of the Year, he also coached Central to the state semifinals in his first season (1997) while the 2001 squad went 20-4 for his second 20-win season in five years. One of his stars at Central was Antonio Gates, who set an NFL record for tight ends in 2004 by scoring 13 touchdowns for the San Diego Chargers. 

            As a player, Taliaferro led Wayne State to three Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference titles, three NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearances and a combined record of 71-20. He helped the Tarters reach the Final Four in 1993 and set a school record for victories in 1994 (25-5).       

Heath originally recruited Taliaferro to Albion (Mich.) College, where he was an assistant in 1990 and 1991. Taliaferro played at Albion as a freshman before transferring to Wayne State.

            Taliaferro prepped at Detroit Mumford High School where he was an honorable mention all-city selection as a senior after helping his team reach the city playoffs for the first time in 24 years. His coach at Mumford was the late Jim Boyce, the former Eastern Michigan University coach who recruited Heath to EMU in the mid-1980s.

            Taliaferro and his wife, Kim, are the parents of three daughters, Errin, Kaela and Lynsey.