Taylor Jr. ready to continue family legacy with UTC
Growing up in Orlando, Johnny Taylor Jr. remembers the trips to Chattanooga to see his father — who prepped at Howard — Johnny’s side of the family.
“Every summer. Every Christmas break,” Taylor Jr. said.
He got a chance to hear of stories of his father’s dynamic play as a senior forward for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, when Taylor was named the 1997 Southern Conference Player of the Year for averaging 17.7 points and six rebounds in the Mocs’ run to the Sweet 16, a run that helped Taylor get taken 17th in the NBA Draft that year. He spent three seasons in the league before spending the majority of the following 12 years playing overseas.
Now, the younger Taylor is getting an opportunity to create his own legacy in the Scenic City, having accepted an opportunity to walk on a UTC team that could also find its way into the NCAA tournament this season, which would be a first since 2016.
“It feels really special,” Taylor Jr. said. “It gives me a goal, some motivation, seeing my dad on the walls. It motivates me to keep pushing.”
Tuesday afternoon, the Mocs were selected as the favorites to win the SoCon, with senior guard David Jean-Baptiste and sophomore guard Malachi Smith being named to the 10-player All-SoCon team.
Taylor prepped at Ocoee High School in the Orlando area and averaged around 13 points and four rebounds per game, but as was the case with a lot of Class of 2021 athletes, the 6-foot-3, 184-pounder saw his recruitment struggle due to the combination of COVID-19 limiting college coaches’ exposure to players as well as the NCAA granting 202021 athletes an additional year of eligibility, limiting the number of scholarships available.
“We had talked with him and with big Johnny earlier on, and a couple of assistants had kept tabs on him,” UTC head coach Lamont Paris said last week. “I think they obviously felt comfortable with the city, the university and the connections here, and the dad has felt comfortable with my interactions with him and in trusting me to coach his son. I think that familiarity was a big part of him going somewhere where he would be able to grow into the player that he’s going to be one day.
“He’s got really good potential. He’s a really good athlete, especially vertically, and like all young guys, he’s just trying to learn the ropes.”
There’s no immediate need for Taylor to make an impact, as seven of the top nine players on the Mocs’ current roster are either juniors or seniors. He will have time to develop and improve and reach the goals he has for himself, which are pretty simple right now — to play overseas, much like his dad did.
“It’s real special to be here,”
he said. “The guys, my teammates, are real cool. It’s real special.”