High school boys basketball: Sherrill Award goes to Taylor

SALISBURY — Braylon Taylor’s senior season at Salisbury High School already read like a checklist of every player’s dream: Christmas Tournament MVP, South Piedmont Conference Player of the Year, 4A state champion, and now the Scooter Sherrill Award as Rowan County Player of the Year.

Chosen by a committee of former county standouts—North Rowan’s Tristan Rankin, West Rowan’s Darren Ramsey, and South Rowan’s Reggie Dean McConneaughey Jr.—the Sherrill Award salutes the county’s most outstanding boys basketball talent. A scheduling conflict delayed the presentation, but Taylor was finally located and surprised with the honor.

“Yes, sir, this award is a great honor,” Taylor said. “There were a lot of really good players in Rowan County.”

The 6-foot-2 guard’s humility belies a résumé that now sits among Salisbury’s greatest. Taylor poured in a career-high 29 points on the state’s biggest stage, leading the Hornets to their first boys basketball title since 1987. He finished his career fourth on Salisbury’s all-time scoring list with 1,415 points, averaging 18.5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2.5 steals per game as a senior.

Taylor’s rise was steady. He played on the jayvee squad as a freshman, averaged 10 points as a sophomore alongside county scoring king Juke Harris, then became the primary facilitator as a junior after point guard Bryce Dalton’s football injury. By his senior year, he was both focal point and floor general, scoring in double figures in all 31 games while mentoring a roster that featured four underclassmen in the rotation.

“Obviously, Braylon has grown as a player every year,” head coach Albert Perkins said. “But what I was proudest of during his senior year was the way he took on the role of leading our team.”

Taylor’s signature moment came in the regional final, when he watched teammate Royce Perkins bury a half-court buzzer-beater to topple Central Davidson. “I believe I could watch the video of Royce’s shot every day for the rest of my life,” Taylor said with a laugh.

In the championship game against Reidsville, Salisbury limited standout Dionte Neal with constant double-teams and executed a game plan that turned a relatively unknown guard into a statewide headline. Taylor added state-MVP hardware to an already crowded trophy case that now includes the Sherrill Award, joining a five-year Salisbury streak of Rowan County Players of the Year that features the late Cam Stout, Juke Harris (twice), and Myles Smith.

Taylor, who has committed to Catawba College, spends most afternoons in the gym preparing for the next level. “It was the perfect way to end my high school career,” he said. “To finish like that, it’s hard to describe. Just overwhelming joy.”