Syracuse Basketball: Former 4-star Justin Taylor to be key cog this season

Full disclosure – I really like Syracuse basketball sophomore guard/small forward Justin Taylor.

The 6-foot-6, 218-pound Taylor, to me, is just a solid and underrated player on the court. Off the court, he just seems to be an engaging, likable young man.

Taylor, in the 2022 class, was a four-star, top-100 national prospect, according to several recruiting services.

The Charlottesville, Va., native was a standout for the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville before spending his senior year suiting up for the post-grad team at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

While at IMG, Justin Taylor competed alongside current Orange sophomore guard/small forward Quadir Copeland.

Sophomore wing Justin Taylor should be a big contributor to Syracuse basketball this coming stanza.

I say that Taylor is underrated, because from my perspective, he brings a lot to the table and sort of flies under the radar. In high school, he certainly received a lot of high praise from national analysts and scouts for his long-range shooting.

And, without question, Justin Taylor can stroke it from beyond the arc. But he’s an underrated athlete. He’s got a strong frame. I think his defense, his rebounding, his passing ability and his court vision, among other attributes, are more than solid.

As a freshman in the 2022-23 season, under then-head coach Jim Boeheim, Taylor appeared in 29 contests, averaging 16.8 minutes per game as the ‘Cuse went 17-15 overall and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

Justin Taylor, in 2022-23, averaged 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per affair, while hitting on 38.3 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from downtown, and 76.2 percent from the charity stripe.

In late November of 2022, when Syracuse basketball lost a heartbreaker by one point to Bryant at home, Taylor showed his potential, going off for 25 points in just 26 minutes of action.

He’s a versatile player, and I envision Justin Taylor spending time at both shooting guard and small forward in the 2023-24 rotation of first-year head coach Adrian Autry.

Not too long ago, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports watched a ‘Cuse preseason practice and chatted with Autry. The Orange head coach says he’s seeing improvements from all of his returning players, including Taylor.

Ahead of the 2023-24 stanza beginning on Monday, Nov. 6, when Syracuse basketball will host New Hampshire, Autry said to Rothstein that Justin Taylor has been “very solid.”

I don’t think that Taylor will be in the starting rotation on November 6, but I do believe he’s going to play a sizable amount of minutes in 2023-24, whether at shooting guard or small forward as one of the first reserves off of the bench.

Plus, with sophomore guard/wing Chance Westry out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury, that likely opens up the door for Taylor, Copeland and others to see their court time increase.

Autry and his assistants have a 2023-24 roster that is filled with athleticism, depth and versatility, and Taylor fits right in there.

"Regarding the Orange’s depth, Justin Taylor recently said in part to Jim Stechschulte of The Juice Online, “It speaks to the beauty of the guys we have. We’re all hungry to win. We all want to compete and bring the best out of each other. We compete on the court, but we’re all brothers outside of the court. We come into practice knowing we have to push each other to try to be great. Like you said, we have a ton of guys who are super talented. We have a ton of weapons. That will prove beneficial to the season and down the road. It starts with practice and pushing each other.”"