Hometown kid Taylor a man of his word
COLUMBIA, S.C. — He has watched all of Central Florida’s other prep phenoms chase fame and glory and gravitate toward the luster and laurels of the elite programs such as Duke and North Carolina, but B.J. Taylor dared to be different.
He wanted to be the hometown kid who started something at the hometown university. UCF’s senior point guard has become the college basketball version of Mother Teresa, who once said, “Love begins at home.”
“I’m an Orlando kid and I wanted to do something memorable here in Orlando,” Taylor said as he and the ninth-seeded Knights prepared for Friday night’s historic NCAA East Region game versus No. 8 seed VCU.
“In the past, the top high school talent has always left the city. I wanted to start a trend and show that it’s OK to stay.”
If you’re a UCF fan, how do you not love this kid?
If you’re an Orlando basketball fan, how do you not love this kid?
In a sport where we have seen stars at all levels (see Shaq, T-Mac and Dwight) exit the City Beautiful, how refreshing is it that B.J. Taylor decided to stay?
As a senior at Boone High School, he led the state of Florida and set an Orange County public schools record by averaging 34.5 points per game. And even though Taylor was named Florida’s Class 8A Player of the Year, he was overshadowed in his own hometown by Lake Highland Prep guard Joel Berry, who was named Florida’s Mr. Basketball and the Orlando Sentinel’s Player of the Year.
Berry, who led Lake Highland to two state championships, signed with North Carolina and won a national championship with the Tar Heels in 2017. Taylor took the road less traveled. He ignored inquiries from Florida, Miami, Indiana and Michigan State and instead signed with UCF.
“In high school, I never wanted to make it me versus Joel because he’s a tremendous player and I’ve respected him,” Taylor said. “At the same time, yes, I thought I was just as good as he was. He
chose a different path than me, but I think it’s worked out for both of us. There’s nothing wrong with going to a school that already has the tradition and championships, but I wanted to go to a place where it’s never been done before.”
Ever since Taylor was a kid, he always wondered why Central Florida’s biggest recruits never considered UCF. Back in the day, Austin Rivers left Winter Park High and signed with Coach K at Duke; Darius Washington left Edgewater to sign with John Calipari at Memphis; Kasey Hill left Montverde Academy to sign with Billy Donovan at Florida.
Even now, NCAA Tournament rosters are filled with stars who played high school ball right here in our midst. Duke stud R.J. Barrett, the ACC’s leading scorer, played at Montverde. Jordan Caroline, another Montverde product, is the Mountain West Conference’s career double-double leader and led Nevada into Thursday’s first-round matchup against Florida.
Fletcher Magee played high school ball at The First Academy and now is a senior at Wofford, where he has led the Terriers to a No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region. He was two treys shy of becoming college basketball’s career 3-point leader headed into Thursday’s first-round game with Seton Hall. Meanwhile, Kerry Blackshear, an Evans High graduate, is now a 6-foot-10 star at Virginia Tech and has led the Hokies to a No. 4 seed in the East Region.
“There’s talent from Central Florida all over the country,” Taylor said. “If we can find a way to keep that talent at home, UCF can be a national power.”
Taylor is certainly doing his part. After he signed with the Knights in 2014, 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, who played high school ball in nearby Tavares, followed suit, as did Deltona’s Chad Brown. Those three seniors have been a massive part of UCF’s basketball renaissance.
“B.J. has meant everything to our program,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “He could have gone anywhere but chose UCF because his dream was to do something special in his hometown. … And he’s done exactly what he said he was going to do, and that’s why I’m so excited about him as a player. A lot of times, people will say things, but B.J. has actually backed it up with his work ethic.”
Taylor has worked and willed the Knights to their first at-large NCAA Tournament bid in school history and their first March Madness appearance of any kind in 14 years. But now comes the next step — actually winning a tournament game for the first time in school history.
If the Knights do end up beating VCU, you better believe Taylor will not only be leading UCF’s charge, he’ll be carrying its torch. When he signed five years ago, this is what he envisioned — putting UCF on the national stage.
As the pied piper of the hometown hardwood, B.J. Taylor has done his job and done it well.