Higher score
For one night, thanks to a record-setting performance by sophomore guard Jack Taylor, the entire basketball universe was talking about what happened in a 1,200-seat gymnasium at a small college in central Iowa. Taylor had just exploded for 138 points, the most ever scored by an American on the high school, college or professional level, and following Grinnell College’s 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist College, his name was on the lips of the game’s superstars.
Future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was asked for his thoughts about Taylor’s point total. Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant and several other NBA players registered their comments about Taylor on Twitter.
He was even knighted by the king. According to an Associated Press report, Miami’s LeBron James, the 3-time NBA MVP dubbed King James by Nike advertising gurus, said he would love to be able to go back and see two specific performances. The first was Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks in 1962.
“And this kid,” James was quoted as saying in the AP story. “I want to see him, too. Sir Jack.”
The 138 points easily surpassed the former college basketball scoring record, set nearly six decades ago by Rio Grande College’s Clarence “Bevo” Francis, who scored 113 points against Hillside College in 1954.
Taylor had the kind of game that the most audacious of young minds wouldn’t even dream about. Seriously, who scores 138 points in a single game? You shouldn’t even be able to do that on a Nerf hoop.
Legends are made with games like that.
Names are made famous.
People now know the name of the 5-foot-10 sophomore guard with the baby face and the sweet stroke from 3-point range. They’ve seen video of the kid knocking down shots like he was trying to win tickets on the Pop-A-Shot machine at Chuck E. Cheese.
No question about it, when something like this happens – something so big that nobody would have even imagined it could happen – names are made famous. Taylor, a Christian who is also a member of Grinnell’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle, said that his desire is that a name other than his own would be made famous by that game.
“The Lord has given me the strength and wisdom to stay humble,” Taylor said. “If I had scored 138 points before God saved me, it would have been a disaster. I would have turned myself into a ‘god’ that people could idolize. Instead, God has made me a new creation who cares more about making Jesus’ name famous rather than my own.”
Ted Schultz, Grinnell’s sports information director who sorted through all the media requests with Taylor for weeks after the Faith Baptist game, said Taylor is one of the few athletes who could have handled the situation as well as he did.
“I know it’s a cliche, but this record and the ensuing attention couldn’t have happened to a better person,” Schultz said. “I think had this happened to 95 percent of athletes out there, he or she would have gotten a huge head initially, and then been crushed by the negative criticism that followed. But Jack is so even-keeled that he never let the highs get too high nor the lows get too low.”
As the well-known story goes, Taylor, who transferred to Grinnell from Division II Wisconsin-Lacrosse, entered the game in a bit of a slump, and his coaches and teammates decided it was time to get his offensive game back on track. The idea was to get Taylor as many shots as possible in Grinnell’s trap-happy, high-octane game plan.
Mission accomplished. Before the final buzzer sounded, Taylor had taken 108 shots, including 71 from beyond the arc, and his team walked off the floor with its game plan fulfilled and a victory in its pocket.
Soon, media types from across the country were chiming in, many celebrating the feat and others calling Taylor anything but a team player and suggesting that his teammates should be upset with the Wisconsin resident’s shot total. Taylor’s teammates, though, have done nothing but heap praise on Taylor, which he deflects back on them before making a comparison.
“My teammates were the reason why I was able to break the scoring record,” Taylor said. “Their unselfishness serves as an example of living as a follower of Jesus Christ because they realize that it isn’t always about them.
“As a Christian, this is often very difficult to understand. It isn’t about you. It isn’t about how many people know your name, it isn’t about your own personal righteousness. It’s about Jesus’ righteousness. It’s all about Jesus.”
Taylor proved to be an example of his own words about unselfishness in Grinnell’s next contest, dishing out five assists. Through nine games, he ranks second on the 7-2 Pioneers in that category.
Prior to the game against Faith Baptist, Taylor took part in a devotional in which the scripture in Matthew 25:14-30 was discussed. Many know that passage as “The Parable of the Talents,” an example of serving in a way that produces and multiplies results.
“I learned that using one’s God-given abilities wisely and productively is an important aspect of discipleship and will be rewarded with additional opportunities to serve God faithfully and fruitfully,” Taylor said. “I then prayed, asking God that he would give me the strength to use my abilities wisely and for His glory.
“He definitely multiplied my talents that night. His fingerprints were all over that game.”
His fingerprints are also all over Taylor’s life as Taylor continues to grow in his relationship with the Lord.
“God has been teaching me a lot,” he said. “I am learning what it is to be a man, biblically. I am learning that a man isn’t about the number of beers you can drink, the number of girls you can get, or how much meat you can eat. That’s not a man. That’s a joke. Being a man is about taking responsibility. Jesus is our example of masculinity.”
Part of Taylor’s growth is his participation in Grinnell’s FCA Huddle and other groups on campus. With basketball and classes dominating his time, it’s not easy making time to build on his relationships.
“With such a busy schedule, I have to carve out time in my schedule to spend time in the Word of God,” Taylor said. “Whether it is on weekends, an hour of free time, or on bus trips when we play on the road, I love reading books. I am also in constant community with fellow believers in a men’s accountability group here at Grinnell. Hanging out with other godly men gives me the wisdom and strength to flee from lust, sexual sin, alcohol, and other temptations that college students are so susceptible to.
“I am also a member of FCA and try to invite other athletes to come and learn about Jesus. It has been awesome to meet other athletes, develop friendships, and be in community with other believers on campus.”
No doubt Taylor and his community share their thoughts on scripture with one another, including Taylor’s favorite verse, James 5:17, which begins, “Elijah was a man, just like us.”
“I love this verse because it says Elijah had the same nature as my nature,” Taylor said. “Elijah, like myself, struggled with sin and temptation and needed God for strength and wisdom. As did other great men of the bible like Moses, Abraham, Peter, and Paul. Elijah was a prophet who called fire down from heaven.
“This gives me great hope because God could do those things through me if He wanted. It makes me trust and rejoice in God’s power that He would use me to advance his kingdom.”
Still, Taylor realizes that athletes face hurdles in building a relationship with Christ.
“In my own experience, it is often challenging to build a connection with God because we often make sports our god,” he said. “It is easy to find your identity and sense of worth in a particular sport, which leads to idolatry. It is important to find your identity in Jesus. To continue to remind yourself that you are a wretched sinner who, apart from God’s grace, deserves an eternity in hell. But because of the grace given to us by Jesus, you can find identity in Jesus’ finished work on the cross, not in sports.”
The fact that Taylor’s identity is in his relationship with Jesus has helped him when he and his team have faced comments that sometimes scorches them for their style of play and Taylor’s record-breaking point total.
“The criticism has been coming my way, but I have tried not to let those voices take anything away from our accomplishment,” Taylor said. “Handling the criticism hasn’t been too difficult. I continue to remind myself that people are entitled to their own opinion.”
For the record, Faith Baptist coach Brian Fincham is not one of those upset with the situation.
“I wasn’t mad at all,” Fincham told CBSSports.com blogger Matt Norlander. “I think it’d be crazy for me to say we had a great defensive strategy. We obviously had no idea they were gonna have a kid score that many points. We did try a double team against him, but honestly, he got really hot for one stretch of the game where he hit seven or eight 3s in a row. I’m not offended by it. There’s no hard feelings there.”
“The insane media attention afterward and, especially when it turned negative, was getting to be pretty draining,” Schultz said. “In fact, we had all but cut off ‘traditional’ interviews when I approached Jack about some Christian outlets that had shown interest. He jumped at that in a second. He was anxious to tell the story of his faith.
“I remember saying to him, ‘I think this all happened to you for a reason.’”
In fact, all the commentary has given Taylor a platform unlike any he had prior to the Faith Baptist game. He is excited to use that platform to share the love of Jesus Christ, and knows that God’s plan for him and the opportunities that God is giving Taylor through that record-setting night are bigger than any plan Taylor could have had for himself.
“I am ecstatic about the opportunities God has given me,” Taylor said. “He has opened so many doors for me to influence my family, college, and community. With this new level of influence, I am praying for boldness to share the gospel with others both through personal testimony, teaching and through social media.
“In American culture, athletes have a powerful influence, especially on our youth. I think athletes have opportunities to be used by God to help others grow as believers and to be used to bring others to Jesus.
“To know that God had planned this game causes me to trust Him even more. He has given me the chance to be fruitful and I think He wants me to use this to bear more fruit by having a positive influence on those around me. He has given me more opportunities to make Jesus’ name famous than I could have ever imagined.”
There’s little doubt Taylor’s future will echo the words of David, who wrote, “I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.”
You can find those words written in Psalm 138.
Originally appeared on FCA.org in 2012