By Pablo Cheeks
Plymouth City Patriots have added last season's National Basketball League joint Most Valuable Player and finals MVP from last season, Taylor Johnson.
The 28 year old Johnson, originally from Aledo, Texas has been entertaining fans in the NBL since 2018, when he signed for the Leicester Warriors in D1. He played his college basketball in the States at NCAA D1 level, representing Dartmouth for 4 years. He averaged just under 12 points per game in his senior year , before heading to the Midlands. Johnson has since spent his time in the NBL, leaving the Leicester Warriors for Thames Valley, before spending the last two seasons with Hemel Storm. He was a massive part of the Storms undefeated 2022/23 season, where they managed to go the entire season without a loss, finishing as playoff champions and also bagging the finals MVP. He has the impressive stat of never averaging less than 22 points per game as well as distributing the ball very well, never dropping below 6 assists per game.
Coach Paul James was very happy to be announcing Johnson as his newest signing, saying “he’s been so impressive in the NBL and he’s certainly going to strengthen our squad moving forward.” James continued, “Taylor has a great all round game. His scoring and passing are impressive and I look forward to working with him and seeing just what he is capable of.” James has encountered his newest signing before, scouting him previously for a pre-season game when Johnson played for the Thames Valley Cavaliers, and the Texan impressed coach James even then.
Johnson was also looking forward to heading to Plymouth, saying “ Ive played at the Plymouth Pavilions once before albeit not in Plymouth colours. The atmosphere was awesome and the appreciation for basketball was clear. I’m excited to be returning, this time in a Patriots jersey.
Johnson's dominance in the NBL for the last five seasons makes him one to watch for the coming season. His clear ability to score and facilitate made him practically unstoppable, on a Hemel squad that would certainly have caused some problems in the British Basketball League.
Report by Pablo Cheeks