
While it’s likely common knowledge amongst those within the grassroots scene, recruiting North Carolina is a polarizing subject for some college programs. Fortunately, the hesitance of others hasn’t deterred Coach Mike Morrell from trusting his eyes and aggressively recruiting the state (both out of high school and the transfer portal). The Bulldogs’ top seven players in minutes all came from North Carolina. Among those seven is notable freshman Kameron Taylor—who folks should remember from his dominance at Carmel Christian.
It’s interesting to see his early significance for a relevant UNC Asheville (10-5) squad, particularly after so few schools were willing to take a chance and extend an offer. He earned four offers (UNCG, Chicago State, Radford, and Chattanooga) with Olympic in June before announcing his move to Carmel Christian. Taylor was clearly one of the most productive and impressive players across the state, yet only collected two scholarships (Ohio and UNC Asheville) during his unbelievable senior season.
In hindsight, surely more schools would’ve gotten involved if they could’ve predicted the impact he would have as a freshman. Instead, he’s proven to be a valuable addition to the Bulldogs. Currently sixth in minutes (22.4 per game), Taylor is posting nightly averages of 9.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG with 52/18/71 splits. Although his three-point shooting is down this season (albeit he’s only taken 34), he’s shooting an insane 70.3% on two-point attempts. Outside of sophomore Jordan Marsh, he logs more minutes than any underclassman on the roster. Not only is he a standout on his own team, but Taylor is quietly one of the most intriguing players in the entire Big South. Across the league, he ranks in the top 20 for offensive rebounds (16), two-point percentage (1), PER (11), win shares (15), offensive rebounding percentage (10), total rebounding percentage (16), block percentage (17), and turnover percentage (1). It’s clear that the 6-foot-7 wing has already solidified his worth as a difference-maker in this program and should only continue to blossom as a leader going forward.