A year ago, he was on JV. Now, Kameron Taylor hopes to lead Olympic on postseason run
Kameron Taylor, a 6-5 junior at Olympic High School, has been making a lot of noise this season, leading the Trojans (21-3) to one of their best records in the past four years.
Kameron, or “Kam” for short, leads his team in points per game (18.5), rebounds (9.5) and field goal percentage (61). He’s second in assists (3.0), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.0).
And he’s doing this in his first year of varsity high school basketball.
“Yeah, Kam was on JV last year,” Head Coach Jeff Bishop said. “He probably shouldn’t have been, but he didn’t play his freshman year due to COVID, and we didn’t really know what we had yet.”
Bishop feels that Taylor has really taken on that role of being “the guy” this season.
“He has really been carrying us,” Bishop said. “He is pretty much the leader of our team right now. We’ve got a nice little mixture of some older seniors as well as some younger kids. He has really lived up to the leader role.”
Wanting to make an impact
When Taylor spoke to Bishop in the offseason, the coach said one thing became clear: Taylor not only wanted to play varsity this season, but he also wanted to make a big impact.
“He has lived up to all expectations and really surpassed some of my expectations,” Bishop added. “He sat on JV and really became the man on JV. So, he was prepared to make that next transition to varsity and has flourished.”
Taylor’s passion and love for the game was sparked long before his freshman year, going back to when he was a little kid.
“Honestly it was my older brother,” Taylor said. “He played, and I really looked up to him.”
Taylor is a young man of few words, and this is one thing that coach Bishop feels he has improved upon as the season has progressed — being a vocal leader on the floor.
“He has taken the reins this year,” Bishop said. “When he first started out, he was quiet. He is still working on that. But, the fire that I see in him, he has grown a lot in that way. He understands what’s needed and I just see that progressing.”
Bishop didn’t hold back, though. He admitted he has been very tough on Taylor this season — with good intentions. He knows what his junior is capable of, and his goal is to pull that out of him.
“I’ve just been challenging him in different ways,” Bishop said, “and Kam might view me as being too hard on him at times. My comeback is always, ‘You told me you wanted to be great and this is what it takes to be great.’ He knows some of the kids that I’ve dealt with in the area, so it gave me some validity with him.”
Going for the ultimate prize
Taylor said he realizes that coach is just trying to get the best out of him, and for Olympic to win a state championship, he needs to be all that coach is asking him to be — and even more.
“I really have to be more vocal and a leader,” Taylor said. “I’ve got to get on the glass no matter if it’s offense or defense. I think if I can get on the glass, that will allow us to get second chance points and push the ball.
“For me it is just taking pride in being that leader. And, knowing that I want this for the team, they (his teammates) will understand and respect my opinions and what I am telling them.”
Olympic begins its postseason push Tuesday in the SoMECK conference tournament. The Trojans will play first-year Palisades (6-17) in a first round game at Myers Park at 7 p.m., where it will try to snap a two-game losing streak.
Taylor thinks his team is ready.
“We all have to be bought in,” Taylor said. “We all have to be focused and bought in on the goal. We can’t have any distractions at all and just have to stay focused.”
Tuesday’s CMS Conference Tournament Schedule
QUEEN CITY 3A/4A AT HOUGH HIGH
(at Hough)
Boys quarterfinals: Hopewell (13-10) vs. West Charlotte (11-12), 4; West Mecklenburg (2-22) vs. North Mecklenburg (22-2), 5:30; Mallard Creek (9-14) vs. Hough (16-8), 7
SOMECK AT MYERS PARK HIGH
Boys quarterfinals: Berry Academy (7-17) vs. Ardrey Kell (14-10), Gym 1, 4:30; Palisades (6-17) vs. Olympic (21-3), Gym 1, 7; South Mecklenburg (8-16) vs. Harding (11-13), Gym 2, 7:30
Girls quarterfinals: Berry Academy (7-14) vs. Palisades (9-13), Gym 1, 5:30; Olympic (3-20) vs. Ardrey Kell (15-9), Gym 2, 6
SOUTHWESTERN 4A
Boys quarterfinals: Providence (10-12) at Independence (14-10), 4; Garinger (0-24) at East Mecklenburg (18-6), 5:30; Rocky River (8-15) at Butler (17-7), 7
Note: The Queen City and Southwestern girls first round were scheduled for Monday. Get results at charlotteobserver.com/sports/high-school
PHOTOS: Olympic High’s Kameron Taylor
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 5:30 AM.