Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Taylor all about putting in the effort
It’s nothing out of the ordinary for Layne Taylor to do the exact same things in a game that he routinely does during practices at Farmington.
That comes from years of repetition and skill-honing, according to his dad and high school coach Johnny Taylor. But there’s an aspect about the younger Taylor’s game that allows him to make the uncommon appear common.
“His attention to detail is one of his biggest assets,” Johnny Taylor said. “The people who are a casual fan don’t see the early morning shooting or the 9 o’clock at night shooting, but his teammates do. A lot of our kids put in so much time, and they do it with him.
“They help him just as much as he helps them. I say this a lot, but we’ve got really intelligent kids. And Layne, he pays attention to everything when he’s out there on that floor. That’s one of the biggest reasons he’s been able to do some of the things that he’s done.”
Other teams paid an absurd amount of attention to Taylor this season, but it seemingly didn’t matter.
The 5-10 guard had a monster freshman season, but it was what he was able to do as a sophomore in 2021-22 that ultimately paved the way for him to become this year’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Boys Underclassman of the Year.
Taylor averaged 26 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.4 steals in a record-breaking year for Farmington. The Cardinals set a school record for victories (31) and won a regional championship for only the second time in program history. Farmington also went undefeated in 4A-1 Conference play, which has been done only a handful of times.
A notable reason for that success was because of what Taylor did despite facing every kind of defense possible. He eclipsed the 40- point barrier a number of times, including a 61-point masterpiece against Huntsville. But there were also nights where he faced double and triple teams consistently, and that’s where that meticulousness attribute that his father alluded to moved to the forefront.
“There was a game at Pea Ridge when in the third and fourth quarter, he had one shot attempt and one point,” Johnny Taylor said. “And I said after the game, if you don’t think we’re about winning and just worry about stats, this ought to shut a lot of people up in a hurry. And we won the game.
“We say it all the time, that you’ve got to believe in your role, stay in your role and star in your role. To get kids in today’s times to play unselfish and play a role is tough. But we had that with this group. They didn’t care what I asked them to do because they were gonna do it if they thought it’d help us win a game.”
Count his son among that contingent who displayed a whatever-it-took mindset.
Layne Taylor pointed to the Cardinals’ ability to adjust from night to night as a crucial component of their overall success. He also said they were much better defensively than what they were a year ago, including himself.
“To be honest, all of the guys just really stepped up,” he said. “I think we all just played our roles and became better because of it. I know for me when I rolled my ankle, not being able to jump as high or run as fast as before was tough to deal with. But that’s where the team stepped up.
“In some games, they were having to score more, but they were going to do whatever it took to help us win games.”
That extra effort allowed Farmington to reach the second round of the state tournament for the second year in a row. Taylor is set on helping the Cardinals take a step forward next season by continuing to adhere to that do what it takes mentality.
His regimen for that may come as a surprise to some, but again, he’s diligent in just about everything he does.
“I want to become a more consistent shooter,” said Taylor, who shot an effective 52.8% on the season. “I want to get to where if I let it go, everybody thinks it’s going in, especially from the threepoint line. To me, I think that’s my biggest flaw right now. But I just really want to keep winning.
“Winning a state championship, that’s the ultimate goal. We couldn’t do it this year, so we’ve got to do it next year.”