Terry Taylor has had one of the most impressive careers in the history of APSU athletics. On Thursday, Feb. 4, the reigning OVC Player of the Year added to his list of achievements with what is his most memorable yet—the all-time scoring record.
With a putback dunk 15 minutes into the first half against Eastern Kentucky, Taylor passed Bubba Wells for the program’s all-time scoring mark. The record –previously 2,267 points-has been held by Wells since 1997.
After breaking the long-standing record, Taylor says he is blessed.
“It was a blessing,” Taylor said following the record-setting performance. “God put me here and without him I would not be in this position. I just have to thank coach Figger for giving me a chance my freshman year when nobody else would and my teammates, all the teammates I have had, for giving me the ball in spots where I can score; and just the confidence I have in myself to go make the plays and all of the hard work I have put in behind the scenes.
“It is a blessing and I passed up an Austin Peay legend to do it, so it makes it even more sweet and we got the win. I am happy and I am going to enjoy it for tonight and then get ready for Morehead on Saturday.”
Since coming to APSU, Taylor has been a central part in Matt Figger’s starting lineup. The 6-5 Guard/Forward has started in all 117 games in his APSU career, which currently ranks third in program history. Should the season continue as planned, Taylor would break Chris Horton’s all-time record of 126 starts in APSU’s first game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in March.
The Bowling Green, Ky native has played 1,000 minutes in each of his first three seasons at APSU, totaling 3,998 career minutes, which ranks just below Drake Reed’s all-time record of 4,093.
While he has arguably been one of the most reliable players in program history, what makes Taylor stand out the most throughout his career has been his commitment to the university and head coach Matt Figger.
Throughout the years, there has been a lot of turnover for the men’s basketball team. Taylor is the only player with over two years of experience under Figger since he took over as head coach in 2017. This says a lot about the two’s connection, Figger says.
“It says we have a great relationship, number one,” Figger said. “Number two, turnover happens when you are trying to build a program. Terry invested in us day one. He believed in us and I believed in him. There is a reason why our four years together has been pretty good.”
When asked what about his commitment to his head coach, Taylor had nothing but compliments for the man that gave him his chance out of Bowling Green High School.
“He gave me my chance and my whole thing was that I was going to be loyal [to] who trusted me and gave me the chance to prove that,” Taylor said. “All the other coaches made a mistake. Even though we have not gotten to where we wanted, I wanted to stick it out with him and show him that I am loyal to him and I will ride it out until the end no matter what.
“He has been good to me. Me and him bump heads and we have our moments where we argue, but at the end of the day I know he’s got my back and I got his back when we need it. He’s been good to me and I could not be any more thankful for him.”
Taylor’s legacy at APSU was cemented long before he broke Wells’ record; but the now all-time leading scorer in program history has just one more goal in mind—his first OVC title.
“I firmly believe that people need to take notice, because we are about to take off and we are about to start playing our best basketball,” Taylor said.
