While North Carolina head coach Roy Williams was on his way to Charlottesville, Virginia, on Friday with his team to face Virginia on Saturday, he had a Charlottesville standout.
Justin Taylor, a 6-foot-6 junior wing at Charlottesville (Va.) Anne’s-Belfield School, was on the receiving end of the call and he now has a scholarship offer from the Tar Heels.
Taylor’s head recruiter at UNC is assistant coach Steve Robinson, while Roy Williams has already made a first call when recruiting began 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.
Taylor ranks the number 60 overall player in the junior class by the 247Sports staff. Taylor also holds listings from Butler, Georgetown, Indiana, Maryland, NC, Syracuse, hometown of Virginia and Virginia Tech. He plays for Team Takeover – the same program that UNC forward Armando Bacot and Anthony Harris set up – on Nike’s EYBL track.
Justin Taylor is a player college coaches would love to see, “Brandon Jenkins, 247Sports recruitment analyst, said at the Joe Wootten Top 150 camp last October.” It seemed like I saw him automatically from the perimeter every time. The four-star wing is one of the better shooters in the country, as he shows a stroke behind the bow that was more than impressive. With a tremendous position size at 6-foot-6, coaches keep Taylor as a potential specialist on the floor distance. ‘
Taylor scored 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists during his second season at STAB.
“I would just say I could expand my game in different areas,” Taylor told 247Sports. ‘I can show my athleticism and speed. I improved as a playmaker and got to the basket, and stuff like that. I also know that I will now show better on both sides of the floor. ‘
Damin Altizer, his coach at STAB, sees the potential at UNC: “Gseeing how they have historically played under Roy Williams, I think he can do the things they want from their wings. A few years ago, the whole ‘you are who you can watch’ ‘was a blow to him. All the work he has done over the past few years has helped him move on to where he can protect both positions on the wing. Some people see him as just a shooter coming off the screen and making shots. It is not very attractive to him because he is looking for a program that wants a versatile player who can shoot all things, jump again, defend. ‘