Shulman lands top-rated player Layne Taylor on Tuesday

CONWAY, Ark. — New Central Arkansas coach John Shulman isn’t wasting any time.  He signed the state’s top-rated player in Layne Taylor of Farmington on Tuesday

Taylor, a 5-11, 180-pound point guard for the Cardinals, is the No. 3 all-time scorer in Arkansas high school history with 3,372 career points. He was the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Player of the Year this season.

One of the state's best is headed to Conway! Welcome @LayneTaylor2024 to the Bear Family! #BearClawsUp https://t.co/tLCYoKfFPP

— UCA Men's Basketball (@UCAMBB) April 17, 2024

If you doubted Shulman didn’t have a plan for recruiting, this could some of those doubts. While Taylor doesn’t have the measurable stats (in other words, he’s not 6-4), he does have another more important one: He can score and run a team on the floor, which is not unusual for the coach’s son. Johnny Taylor is the Farmington coach. Taylor is a player the Bears could get and Shulman, who has been on the job about a month, got the No. 1 player in the state.

Taylor, who led the Cardinals to a runner-up finish at the Class 4A State Tournament last month, averaged 25.3 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 39 percent from three-point range as a senior. His Farmington teams had an overall record of 124-12 in his four seasons.

Taylor was a four-time All-State selection and a three-time All-State Tournament selection. He is ranked as the No. 20 point guard prospect in the nation by 24/7 Sports and is the top-ranked recruit in UCA program history. He committed to the Bears on April 12.

Building something special in Conway!!! Go Bears 🟣🐻 #Committed @Tyrobinson02 pic.twitter.com/OqzHhRqVMD

— Layne Taylor (@LayneTaylor2024) April 12, 2024

“You go anywhere in the state of Arkansas and talk basketball and everyone talks about Layne Taylor,” said new UCA head coach John Shulman. “He is everything that is right about the game. He is a winner, he scores the ball, he passes the ball, he competes. He is the point guard that just controls the game. He is a student of the game. He is a coach’s son, he is special. His commitment to Central Arkansas should show the basketball world that it is now cool to come to Central Arkansas and play basketball.”