Justin Taylor Sets Multiple Official Visits

One of Syracuse's top targets has official visits set, knows decision timeframe.

With the NCAA's announcement that programs can resume the normal recruiting calendar starting on June 1st, effectively lifting the covid related extended dead period, 6-6 2022 shooting guard Justin Taylor is taking advantage. Taylor has scheduled three visits for June and has a timeframe for a final decision in mind. 

One of the school's that has prioritized Taylor as much as anyone is Syracuse. The Orange has been recruiting Taylor hard for quite some time. 

"It's been really consistent," Taylor said. "They're still making me the top priority in the class. We've already set up an official visit to do the 9th and 10th of June since they opened things back up. We can finally do in person visits. Right when the news broke, they contacted us and we set the 9th and 10th up. We're excited to get down there and see them in person, finally. We're excited for it." 

While this will not be Taylor's first time on campus, it will be his first time having in person communication with the Syracuse coaches. He is looking forward to other aspects of the official visit as well. 

"We had spring break a while ago," Taylor said. "We went down there just to see the campus. We couldn't see any of the coaches or anything like that but we just walked around. We didn't know when the dead period was going to end, just in case we weren't able to take visits. But now that we are, we're going to take the official.

"The main thing is the ability to see them in person rather than texting or talking on the phone. I think seeing the facilities, meeting some of the players, seeing them work out in person, maybe getting to play with them would be huge. Just walking around campus and seeing what a day in the life is like as a student-athlete."

Taylor has other visits scheduled as well. He is visiting Virginia Tech the first weekend in June and North Carolina after his official to Syracuse. The UNC visit will be an official visit, while the Virginia Tech will not due to its close proximity to Taylor.

The Tar Heels recently had a coaching change when Roy Williams retired and Hubert Davis was hired as his replacement. That has had an impact on North Carolina's recruitment of Taylor.

"Obviously coach Williams was the one who offered me originally," Taylor said. "After he retired, coach Davis, he was pretty busy for a while getting everything set up. About two weeks after he was hired, he called me to let me know they wanted to re-offer me so to speak and that I was still a huge priority for them in the 2022 class. It's definitely been different with the whole coaching staff being switched, but it's still the same with me being a priority for them." 

Taylor's most recent offer was from Florida. The Gators extended the offer on April 9th. 

"They've kind of been recruiting behind the scenes," Taylor said. "They've been talking to my coaches, both Team Takeover and St. Anne's Belfield. They've been watching film and talking to them. I had a good conversation with them a week or so ago. They kind of just talked about how my playing style fits into their system. They like my ability to shoot and play in transition. We'll see how it goes. It's still kind of early but I'm sure they'll pick up the recruiting soon." 

Duke is another school that has started showing interest in Taylor. 

"They have not offered yet but they have started to pick up the recruiting lately," Taylor said. "They haven't seen me in person yet so I think once they see me play more this spring and summer, we'll see where it goes. But they have started to pick up the recruitment. Last time I talked to them they said they would like to get me on a visit in June." 

How close is Taylor to a decision?

"I think I'd like to cut my list before June, and take the visits to the schools that are on my final list," Taylor said. "After I'm actually able to take these visits and see the campuses in person, I think that will lead to me making a final decision. Whether that will be the end of June or early July, that's the timeframe I shooting for right now. These visits will definitely help a ton with that."