Next Cats player page: Kentucky basketball recruiting target JJ Taylor
One of the first players from the 2023 class to land a Kentucky scholarship offer, Javonte “JJ” Taylor has the type of size and skill set that John Calipari often looks for, and he seems likely to remain one of the Wildcats’ top recruiting targets for the next couple of years.
UK also appears to be in very good shape in the early going of that recruitment.
JJ TAYLOR
Small forward | Chicago
6-foot-8, 185 pounds
247Sports: No. 8 overall
Rivals.com: No. 4 overall
ESPN.com: No. 3 overall
Kentucky assistant Chin Coleman was the first college coach to start recruiting Taylor — expressing interest as an Illinois assistant even before the star prospect began high school — and that relationship has carried over to Coleman’s arrival in Lexington.
The bond was so strong — and Taylor’s promise on the court is so high — that Calipari took the rare step of extending a scholarship offer before his junior year of high school and before the UK coach had seen him play in person. At the time of Kentucky’s offer to Taylor, there was only one other player in the 2023 class with that honor: DJ Wagner, who has long been hailed as the No. 1 player in the class and is part of a family with extensive ties to Calipari.
On June 15 — the first day that 2023 recruits could hear directly from college coaches — Taylor received a dozen scholarship offers, from schools such as UK, Duke, Kansas, Gonzaga, Michigan, Michigan State and Arizona. He’s also established himself as a clear top-10 recruit in the class.
“He has a chance to be one of the best to come out of Chicago. He’s that talented. Sixteen years old — he’s ahead of the curve,” said Mike Irvin, his coach with the Nike-affiliated Mac Irvin Fire and a major figure in Chicago hoops.
Before becoming a college basketball assistant, Coleman — also a Chicago native — was the coach of the Mac Irvin Fire, and he still has extensive ties in the area.
Last high school season, Taylor averaged 28.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game, earning first-team sophomore all-American honors from MaxPreps.com. In June, he took home co-MVP honors at the prestigious Pangos All-American camp despite being a year younger than many of the top players in attendance.
Quotable
“He is an incredibly talented prospect. Incredibly talented. He’s pushing 6-foot-8, if he isn’t already there. For a true small forward. There’s no power forward in him. He is a straight ‘3’. He’s got the size. He’s got the length. He’s one of those players that — if you don’t know who he is — and someone says, ‘Hey, Kentucky has offered a kid on this court,’ you just look around, and you’ll pinpoint him. It’s clear as day. He’s incredibly impressive physically. He’s a great athlete. And then he can just really score it. ... He can make shots from three. He can score it off the bounce. And he’s also a good passer. He’s one of the elite talents in that 2023 class.”—247Sports analyst Travis Branham
Crystal Ball
There have not yet been any predictions on either Taylor’s 247Sports Crystal Ball page or his Rivals.com Future Cast page.
