Four-star wing Taylor talks UVa offer, decision timeframe

With the lack of spring and summer evaluation periods this year, a lot of college programs have forged ahead into the next recruiting cycle with much less intel than in any other year.

In the class of 2022, UVa didn’t put out its first offers out there until fairly recently. One of the two of those to receive the call from Tony Bennett this month was a player that is as familiar with the Cavaliers as any in at least the past six cycles.

UVa joined a growing list for four-star Charlottesville wing Justin Taylor earlier this month and the 6-foot-6, 205-pound St. Anne’s-Belfield standout was understandably excited to get the news.

“I was actually just waiting in the parking lot on a to-go order and he called me,” Taylor told CavsCorner. “And it was really just a regular conversation at first. He was talking about the season, just everything that's going on. And then he told me they’d like to offer me. And I mean, I can't really explain how excited I was. Just growing up here my whole life and watching that program have a ton of success, I was just really excited.”

Taylor, who also claims offers from the likes of Butler, Georgetown, Indiana, Marquette, Maryland, NC State, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech, among others, had obviously heard a lot from Bennett. That’s what made the offer from UVa all the more special.

“They’ve always been there, just because they're in my back yard, so they come to my games during the season,” Taylor said. “Coach Bennett and Coach (Jason) Williford came to a couple of my games last year, and then this summer when they were allowed to contact me I heard from Coach Williford a pretty good amount and then Coach Bennett as well. And I did a Zoom call with them at about the start of the school year so that was good to get on there with them.

“It was pretty consistent communication with them before the offer, mainly just texting and getting mail from them,” he added. “And then just because they're so close, I'll see them around town every now and then.”

The fact that UVa came through with that offer was a big moment for a kid who has watched closely.

“Yeah, definitely,” Taylor said when asked if the moment was surreal. “Growing up, I would just always go to the games and I would’ve never imagined when I was younger that I would actually be able to have that opportunity to play for their program. So it was pretty surreal. Just growing up here, it was definitely a huge one because a lot of these offers? I mean, they've all been big but that's definitely a huge one, just with all the success that they've had.”

That Zoom call, a fixture in recruiting these days, certainly left an impression.

“Yeah, it was really good,” he said of the virtual visit. “They brought out film actually from this summer on me and then film on the plays they run at UVa, just kind of comparing how my game and style just complements the way they play and how I could fit right in with their playing style. So it was good.

“I think I was able to just connect and ask as many questions as I’d like and just have that face to face connection rather than just on the phone,” Taylor added. “We’re not allowed to take visits but it's kind of a visit in a way, just being able to see their campus and get to know them better. It just kind of allowed them to take me through their program in a more in-depth way rather than just talking on the phone or texting. It's been different, rather than actually being being able to go to the campus or go to the games, but it's the best we have right now. It's been good, though.”

With the situation being what it is right now, Taylor understands that his recruitment would be very different had he been able to play for real during travel season on Team Takeover’s 17s in the EYBL. But he’s not letting that keep him from developing his game.

“I kind of started to look at it as a positive,” he said. “We stopped having tournaments and everything like that so I was just able to work out with my trainer. We were in the weight room and on the court just about every day. So that was huge for my development. I think, even though I wasn’t able to get a lot of exposure like I would have, I was able to just develop my game a lot more than I would have if we had tournaments and things like that.”

In addition to his work on his own, he said he was fortunate to get to play in Takeover’s summer series, which pitted him against good high school and even college competition.

So how does he think he got better this offseason?

“I would just say being able to expand my game a lot more, being able to play both sides,” Taylor said. “I worked on my defense a lot, my athleticism, in the weight room. And then on the court, we worked a lot on just being able to get to the basket, finish through contact, scoring off the move and not just being catch and shoot but being able to score the ball on all three levels.”

With the UVa offer in hand, don’t look for a quick decision or one to come anytime soon.

“I don't think I really went through that phase of [possibly committing] because I've always told myself that I'm never going to commit right when a school offers,” Taylor said. “I think I want to really just take my time with it. So I try to stay true to that and not get starry eyed by these bigger programs that start to come in because I just want to find the best fit for me. I think just staying true to the process and taking my time with it all is super important.

“The rules from the NCAA with guys being able to have an extra year and stuff is kind of changing things,” he added, “but I think I'd like to probably narrow my list down like beginning of summer after hopefully some spring tournaments for AAU. So I’ll just see where I'm at after those and maybe narrow my list down then. I can see myself making the decision definitely before my senior season just to get it out of the way and focus on my last season of high school basketball. I think maybe at the end of summer or in the fall is when I could see myself making a final decision.”

In terms of fit, how Virginia sees him in its system is consistent with what he’s heard from other schools.

“They've obviously had a lot of guys who have come through that program that are similar to me, guys who can play the 2 and 3, guys who can really shoot it,” he said. “I think they can see me coming in and making an impact right away playing that wing position. They always have guys like me, you know, coming off ball screens or coming off pin downs. Then on the defensive end, obviously at UVa that is super important, being able to play defense. So I think just being able to guard your position is super important.”

Though he realizes the pressure will mount soon, it’s not there yet.

“I’d say I'm enjoying it,” Taylor said of the process. “I don't think I feel that much pressure on me. I feel like once I start to narrow my list down, I think it will get more agonizing then just because once I narrow it down I feel like those are all schools that I could go to and make an impact. So I think as I start to narrow it down, it might get a little more stressful but I still just want to enjoy the process because it only comes once.

“I only get to experience all this once in my lifetime,” he added. “I just want to enjoy and try and make it as stress free as it can be.”

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