Courtesy of Grand Valley State Sports Information Department: Jake Levy
ALLENDALE, Mich. – Grand Valley State men's basketball assistant coach, Taylor Johnson, has been named to the 2020 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team. The team is comprised of 30 of the most outstanding collegiate basketball coaches under the age of 30.
"This is a Team and Staff award. I want to thank Coach (Ric) Wesley and Coach (J.R.) Wallace for all their support and the many great players we have had come through our program in my four years here. I have loved coaching each one of them and appreciate all the hard work they all have put in to help us achieve our goals," said Johnson. "As we continue to achieve success as a team, individual accolades will follow. We look forward to next season achieving more success with this team on and off the floor."
Johnson is entering his fifth season as an assistant at GVSU for the 2020-2021 season and is integral in all recruiting and player development efforts for the Lakers and his responsibilities also include offensive play calling, opponents scouting, scheduling, and Team Camps. He has played a major role in securing six Division I transfers for GVSU, including three for the 2019-20 season, and helped develop Jake Van Tubbergen into an NABC All-American as a junior last year; the first Laker to earn the honor since 2008.
"I'm so proud and happy for Taylor in earning this well-deserved honor," said GVSU head coach Ric Wesley. "He works tirelessly and pours everything he has into making this team, and our players, better. His dedication has paid off for us on the court and I'm pleased to see him getting the recognition he deserves in the coaching community."
The Lakers have returned to prominence with Johnson on staff. Last season, the Lakers went 23-7 – the most wins in a single campaign since 2007-08 – and won the GLIAC South Division Championship, their first divisional title since 2009-10. GVSU went 15-5 in the GLIAC, finishing one win away from a conference title. The team hosted the GLIAC Tournament and was ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation during the season.
The year prior, GVSU made a historic run to become the first-ever 7-seed to win the GLIAC Tournament, earning them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for their first trip to the Big Dance since 2010. The growing momentum has the Lakers poised to be a major threat in both the conference and region once again in 2020-2021.
Johnson joined the Laker staff in the summer of 2016 after three seasons as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State, where his responsibilities included coordinating scouting reports, editing game film and handling film exchange, player analysis, and scheduling. He also assisted in arranging on-campus recruiting activities and tracking student-athletes' academic progress. Johnson was instrumental in running the Mark Gottfried Summer Basketball camps, the former head coach at NC State.
A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Johnson graduated from Western Michigan in 2013 with honors in organizational communications and business. He also received his Master's degree in Family and Youth Studies from North Carolina State in 2015.
