It turns out that while North Carolina coach Roy Williams was on his way to Charlottesville, Virginia, on Friday, with his team set to face Virginia on Saturday, he called a Highlight of Charlottesville.
Justin Taylor, a 6-foot-6 junior wing in Charlottesville (Go.) St. Anne’s-Belfield School was getting that call and now he has a Tar Heels scholarship offer.
Taylor’s main UNC recruiter is assistant coach Steve Robinson, while Roy Williams had already made an initial call when recruitment started to increase. Taylor joins guards Jaden Bradley and Nick Smith and forwards Dylan Anderson, Mark Mitchell, Jarace Walker and Dereck Lively as members of the Class of 2022 with an offer from North Carolina.
Ranked the number 60 overall player in the junior class by the 247Sports team, Taylor also has offers from Butler, Georgetown, Indiana, Maryland, NC State, Syracuse, hometown Virginia and Virginia Tech. He plays for Team Takeover – the same program that produced UNC striker Armando Bacot and point guard Anthony Harris – on Nike’s EYBL circuit.
“Justin Taylor is a Coaches for college players would have loved to see it, “said 247Sports recruitment analyst Brandon Jenkins at Joe Wootten Top 150 Camp last October.” It seemed that every time I saw him he was automatic. The four-star wing is one of the best snipers in the country, as it demonstrated a blow behind the bow that was more than impressive. With an excellent positional size of 1.8 m, coaches love Taylor as a potential floor spacing specialist at the top high level. “
Taylor averaged 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists during his second season at STAB.
“I would just say that I was able to expand my game in different areas,” Taylor told 247Sports. “I think I can show more of my athleticism and speed. I improved as a player and getting to the basket and things like that. Furthermore, I know that I will show that I am better at both ends of the ground now. “
Damin Altizer, his trainer at STAB, sees the potential adjustment at UNC: “GConsidering that they have historically played under Roy Williams, I think he can do the things he likes with his wings. A few years ago, the whole ‘you are who you can protect’ was a criticism of him. All the work he has put in over the past few years has helped him make the transition to where he can protect both positions in the ward. Some people see him just as a sniper coming out of the screens and taking pictures. This is not very attractive to him, because he is looking for a program that wants a versatile player who can shoot, hit, defend, do all these things ”.