Athlete – Basketball
Vince Taylor was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and then his family and he moved to Chicago six weeks later. The Taylor family later returned to Lexington when Vince was an eighth grader. He is the son of the late Joan Taylor and Vertner Taylor and brother of Dr. Janet Taylor.
Vince grew up watching University of Kentucky players Jack Givens and James Lee, as well as Anthony Jackson and Tyrone Dunn, who were local legends. He attended Tates Creek High School and was extremely fortunate to have Coach Nolan Barger, who helped him develop excellent fundamentals and mental discipline for the game. During his junior year, Vince, along with teammates David Tompkins and Anthony Arnold, led Tates Creek to a No. 1 ranking in the state. The Dirt Bowl, Castlewood Park, and the playground on Thomas Street in Aspendale were showcases for local talent such as Dirk Minnefield, Melvin Turpin, and Micheal Scearce. By his senior year in 1978, Vince led the state in scoring, was First Team All-State, and was chosen a McDonald’s All-American, averaging 29.3 points per game.
Vincent had many choices for college and chose Duke University to play for Coach Bill Foster and Coach Mike Krzyzewski. During his college career, Duke won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in both 1979 and 1980 and went to The Elite Eight after defeating UK. Vince was chosen as an All-ACC player and led the league in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game. He obtained his bachelor of science degree in Economics and was voted onto the President’s Academic List of 1983.
After college, Vincent was drafted as the 33rd overall pick by the New York Knicks. He averaged 3.1 points his rookie year, was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 1984, and was injured the following year. He played in Europe for 12 years and eventually retired.
Vincent had a successful basketball coaching career as an assistant coach for Denny Crum (U of L), Rick Pitino (U of L), Tubby Smith (University of Minnesota and Texas Tech), Dwayne Casey (Minnesota Timberwolves), and Johnny Dawkins (UCF). He coached for more than 28 years in the college and NBA ranks.
Vincent is the father of Brendan and Maya Taylor and currently resides in Orlando, Florida.
