Deacon Sports Xtra: Getting to Know Lucas Taylor
10/22/2021 12:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sitting down for an interview after an intense practice, it's impossible not to notice the new tattoo emblazoned on the right chest of Wake Forest freshman guard Lucas Taylor.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or discouraged because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go," it reads.
It's the verse Joshua 1:9 from The Bible.
"Just got it a few weeks ago," Taylor said with a prideful smile. "It's been my life verse since I was a kid. Any tattoo that I would get would have a meaning behind it."
A life verse is one that speaks to you in a unique way, almost as if it was intended specifically for you.
"You can conquer anything in your way," Taylor said about what it means to him. "No matter the situation or what you have going on in life, just thank the Lord for you being able to be here. You can work through anything with Him.
"During the season, everyone goes through slumps. 'I can get through this.' Even now, there are times I've had bad weeks or bad days, so it helps to remember that I will get through it and I just have to have that short-term memory and think next-play."
The Lucas Taylor journey to the Shah Basketball Complex practicing with this year's Demon Deacons started when he was just three or four years old, playing Upward Basketball as part of a church league. As a youth, he also played football and baseball, and figures he was probably best on the diamond. Taylor played wide receiver on the gridiron.
"I was probably the best at baseball, but I just loved basketball the most," he said. "Once I started playing varsity (basketball) as a freshman, I realized I could be really good, so I started focusing most of my time on basketball."
His baseball adventures stopped when he got to Heritage High School (in Wake Forest, N.C.) and he ceased playing football after his freshman season. By his sophomore season he started getting contacted by college recruiters, first by East Carolina. Things accelerated during his junior season, as he averaged 23 points a game and showed a sweet stroke from long range to go along with high-major-level size and skill.
"They (ECU) contacted me a little bit, but it wasn't anything crazy," Taylor said. "It really started picking up about halfway through my junior season. That's when things really started picking up for me."
It didn't take long for new head coach Steve Forbes and his staff to make contact with Taylor and make him one of the top targets in their rebuilding effort for Wake Forest Basketball. There ended up being a bit of a fork in Taylor's road to Winston-Salem. He verbally committed to and even signed with a different institution, but four months later, he got his release and reopened his recruitment.
"It was an internal thing for me," Taylor explained. "During the process I felt rushed into a decision. I never cut my list, so I was talking to 38-40 schools at one time. It was overwhelming and I made a quick decision.
"Just thinking about it, I didn't think that was the best fit for me relationship-wise, in terms of academics or on the court. I decided to take a step back, have some patience and see where things lined up."
Forbes, along with assistant coach BJ McKie, made it clear to Lucas that they were still interested in him becoming a Demon Deacon.
"They've been in this business a long time and know that relationships are important, and that's in terms of when I graduate from here as well," Taylor said. "It's important that we continue to build those relationships. It goes both ways in a lot of respects."
Of course, the 2021 recruiting class — in every sport — had to make their decisions in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, without the opportunity to step foot on campus and see the state-of-the-art facilities at Wake Forest.
"To me, I really didn't care all that much about the facilities, as long as they had two goals and a gym," Taylor joked. "What was important was the people and the environment being right. The people here are great and the education is nice. You can't really go wrong with that."
As a 6-foot-5 guard playing in a five-out motion offense that is largely position-less, Taylor may find himself guarding a wide variety of teammates during practice, from fellow freshman 6-foot-4 Robert McCrary Jr. to a pair of 6-foot-8 wings in Isaiah Mucius and Jake LaRavia, all the way to 6-foot-10 transfer Khadim Sy — all under the watchful and demanding eyes of hard-driving and motivated coaching staff.
"Battling against them is good to prepare me for ACC competition," Taylor said. "Even in the recruiting process he (Forbes) told me he was a realist. At practice he keeps it real for me. I don't want someone who's going to sugarcoat it. At the end of the day, getting on me a lot is what I need. I want him to make sure I stay on the right track mentally and in the weight room.
"The player development here is really good. Pun (grad assistant Isaiah Tisdale) is so good. He will always find five or 10 minutes to help you work on your game. As roles evolve, my game has really grown and I'm looking forward to having the chance to show it."
With Covid restrictions relaxed, the team has been able to bond both on and off the court this offseason — which is an essential pillar for a team composed of just four returning players and nine newcomers.
"We are all new, so we're figuring this out together," Taylor said. "At the end of the day we want to win. We all came here to win. That's the goal. Nothing else. We're all going to work through our growing pains and everything to get to the main goal. It's going to be a lot of fun.
"A lot of people don't understand how much talent we have. It's been fun to build relationships and gel off the court. This is one of the tightest teams I've ever been a part of."
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"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or discouraged because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go," it reads.
It's the verse Joshua 1:9 from The Bible.
"Just got it a few weeks ago," Taylor said with a prideful smile. "It's been my life verse since I was a kid. Any tattoo that I would get would have a meaning behind it."
A life verse is one that speaks to you in a unique way, almost as if it was intended specifically for you.
"You can conquer anything in your way," Taylor said about what it means to him. "No matter the situation or what you have going on in life, just thank the Lord for you being able to be here. You can work through anything with Him.
"During the season, everyone goes through slumps. 'I can get through this.' Even now, there are times I've had bad weeks or bad days, so it helps to remember that I will get through it and I just have to have that short-term memory and think next-play."
The Lucas Taylor journey to the Shah Basketball Complex practicing with this year's Demon Deacons started when he was just three or four years old, playing Upward Basketball as part of a church league. As a youth, he also played football and baseball, and figures he was probably best on the diamond. Taylor played wide receiver on the gridiron.
"I was probably the best at baseball, but I just loved basketball the most," he said. "Once I started playing varsity (basketball) as a freshman, I realized I could be really good, so I started focusing most of my time on basketball."
His baseball adventures stopped when he got to Heritage High School (in Wake Forest, N.C.) and he ceased playing football after his freshman season. By his sophomore season he started getting contacted by college recruiters, first by East Carolina. Things accelerated during his junior season, as he averaged 23 points a game and showed a sweet stroke from long range to go along with high-major-level size and skill.
"They (ECU) contacted me a little bit, but it wasn't anything crazy," Taylor said. "It really started picking up about halfway through my junior season. That's when things really started picking up for me."
It didn't take long for new head coach Steve Forbes and his staff to make contact with Taylor and make him one of the top targets in their rebuilding effort for Wake Forest Basketball. There ended up being a bit of a fork in Taylor's road to Winston-Salem. He verbally committed to and even signed with a different institution, but four months later, he got his release and reopened his recruitment.
"It was an internal thing for me," Taylor explained. "During the process I felt rushed into a decision. I never cut my list, so I was talking to 38-40 schools at one time. It was overwhelming and I made a quick decision.
"Just thinking about it, I didn't think that was the best fit for me relationship-wise, in terms of academics or on the court. I decided to take a step back, have some patience and see where things lined up."
Forbes, along with assistant coach BJ McKie, made it clear to Lucas that they were still interested in him becoming a Demon Deacon.
"They've been in this business a long time and know that relationships are important, and that's in terms of when I graduate from here as well," Taylor said. "It's important that we continue to build those relationships. It goes both ways in a lot of respects."
Of course, the 2021 recruiting class — in every sport — had to make their decisions in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, without the opportunity to step foot on campus and see the state-of-the-art facilities at Wake Forest.
"To me, I really didn't care all that much about the facilities, as long as they had two goals and a gym," Taylor joked. "What was important was the people and the environment being right. The people here are great and the education is nice. You can't really go wrong with that."
As a 6-foot-5 guard playing in a five-out motion offense that is largely position-less, Taylor may find himself guarding a wide variety of teammates during practice, from fellow freshman 6-foot-4 Robert McCrary Jr. to a pair of 6-foot-8 wings in Isaiah Mucius and Jake LaRavia, all the way to 6-foot-10 transfer Khadim Sy — all under the watchful and demanding eyes of hard-driving and motivated coaching staff.
"Battling against them is good to prepare me for ACC competition," Taylor said. "Even in the recruiting process he (Forbes) told me he was a realist. At practice he keeps it real for me. I don't want someone who's going to sugarcoat it. At the end of the day, getting on me a lot is what I need. I want him to make sure I stay on the right track mentally and in the weight room.
"The player development here is really good. Pun (grad assistant Isaiah Tisdale) is so good. He will always find five or 10 minutes to help you work on your game. As roles evolve, my game has really grown and I'm looking forward to having the chance to show it."
With Covid restrictions relaxed, the team has been able to bond both on and off the court this offseason — which is an essential pillar for a team composed of just four returning players and nine newcomers.
"We are all new, so we're figuring this out together," Taylor said. "At the end of the day we want to win. We all came here to win. That's the goal. Nothing else. We're all going to work through our growing pains and everything to get to the main goal. It's going to be a lot of fun.
"A lot of people don't understand how much talent we have. It's been fun to build relationships and gel off the court. This is one of the tightest teams I've ever been a part of."
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