Jack Taylor

Jack Taylor (born October 12, 1990) is an American former college basketball player at Grinnell College.

Grinnell had led all levels of NCAA in scoring for 17 of the past 19 seasons, and their 126.2 points per game in 2003–04 ranked second in history.

In his first season at Grinnell, the team won their first two games with Taylor leading the team in scoring averaging 23.5 points in 13.5 minutes; however, he was only shooting 17.6 percent on three-pointers (6 of 34) and 26.8 percent overall (11 of 41).

Although Grinnell players rarely played more than 20 minutes a game, Grinnell coach David Arseneault Jr.. intended to give him extended playing time the following game to have him work out of his slump before the start of their conference schedule.

In his senior year in 2008–09, he averaged 20.4 points and 4.7 assists per game and shot 42.3 percent on three-point field goals.

He was Coulee Conference Player of the Year, first-team All-Conference, WBCA Division 2 first-team All-State, and AP honorable mention all-state.

He finished his career as the second-leading scorer in school history with 1,295 points, averaging 20.7 points per game.

He received interest from NCAA Division I Columbia, Division II Augustana, and Division III Grinnell.

Unable to secure a Division I athletic scholarship, he attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania as a postgraduate after graduating from high school.

Mercersburg, a boarding school that offered college-level courses, played in a league that produced Division I players.

Taylor was averaging around 14 points and seven assists in nine games at Mercersburg before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral meniscus in his left knee in January 2010.

He missed the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery.

In April, he committed to playing at the Division III University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, again turning down Grinnell.

Taylor sat out his first season at UW–La Crosse as he recovered from his knee injury.

In his freshman season in 2011–12, he averaged 7.0 points in 13.4 minutes in 27 games as a reserve.

He made 39.4 percent of his three-pointers.

However, Taylor stopped enjoying basketball, and he loathed practice.

After one season at UW–La Crosse, Taylor transferred to Division III Grinnell.

The school employed a unique offensive style—known as the Grinnell System—that relied on shooting as many three-pointers as possible; Taylor thought it fit his playing style.

He holds the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record for most points in a single game after scoring 138 in 2012.

After his record-setting performance, his 2012–13 season ended prematurely after he broke his arm.

He recovered to become a two-time All-Midwest Region selection over the next two seasons.

Taylor was born in San Diego County, California in the city of Lakeside.

His favorite player growing up was National Basketball Association (NBA) star Kobe Bryant; Taylor emulated Bryant's footwork while using chairs to act as defenders.

His aunt, Pixar film producer Darla K. Anderson, often paid for him to attend basketball camps at upper-tier colleges like Duke and Stanford, where he faced tough competition.

Taylor attended Black River Falls High School in Black River Falls, Wisconsin and lettered in basketball for four years.

On November 20, 2012, in a 179–104 win over National Christian College Athletic Association-member Faith Baptist Bible College, Taylor scored 138 points, setting the NCAA record for most points by an individual player in a game.

He played 36 minutes and shot 52-of-108 from the field, 27-of-71 from three-point range, and 7 of 10 from the free throw line.

The 108 attempts were an average of three shots per minute.

Taylor scored 58 points in the first half and 80 in the second; he was only 9 of 32 three-pointers in the first half before making 18 of 39 three-pointers in the second half, including seven consecutive in 1 minute 57 seconds.

During one stretch, he scored a Division III-record 28 consecutive points.

He also set NCAA single-game records for most three-point field goals, three-point field goals attempted, field goals, and field goals attempted.

His 80 points in a half were also a record.

Arseneault said the team "left open the possibility [for Taylor setting a record] if he got to off to a great start."

Occasionally, Grinnell designated a game for pursuing a record.

He also scored the NCAA's third-highest total of 109 in 2013.

Taylor played four years of basketball at Black River Falls High School in Wisconsin, where he was an All-State player and was the second-leading scorer in the school's history.

He then attended boarding school at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he suffered a major knee injury.

After recovering, he played one season at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.

He transferred to Grinnell to play in their high-scoring system.