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HomeSportsAPSU Basketball alumni Terry Taylor heading to training camp with Indiana Pacers

APSU Basketball alumni Terry Taylor heading to training camp with Indiana Pacers

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball legend Terry Taylor will begin his professional career with the Indiana Pacers, who inked the Bowling Green Kentucky native to a training camp deal minutes after the 2021 NBA Draft concluded Thursday night.

Austin Peay State University Men's Basketball great Terry Taylor. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball great Terry Taylor. (APSU Sports Information)

Taylor, the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, will join the Pacers for training camp and their run in Las Vegas for the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2021, which begins August 8th.

“I wouldn’t be here without Jesus Himself; he blessed me with my abilities to go out there and play the game I love,” Taylor said. “I’m grateful that the Pacers are taking a chance on me and I’m going to do my best to make sure they don’t regret giving me this opportunity. I’m excited to start my career; I’ve been dreaming about this since I was kid and for it to be a reality is just surreal for me.”

Taylor’s case as one of the greatest players in league history continued to gain steam over the course of his career, culminating in a senior campaign that saw him shatterAPSU’s career scoring record and become just the fifth player in Ohio Valley Conference history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in his career. In the history of NCAA Division I basketball, Taylor is one of only 120 players to reach that milestone.

Taylor reasserted his dominance on the league in 2020-21. He led the league in scoring (21.6 ppg) and rebounding (11.1 rpg) for the second straight season, while also posting top-10 finishes in offensive rebounds (5.1 orpg, first), minutes played (37.0 mpg, first), defensive rebounds (6.0 drpg, tied for second), free-throw percentage (79.4 percent, third) and blocked shots (0.9 bpg, ninth).

Taylor’s senior season saw him finish among the nation’s top-10 in scoring (eighth), rebounding (seventh), field goal attempts (438, eighth), field goals made (228, fourth), total points (584, seventh), and total rebounds (301, third). He also led all of Division I with 20 double-doubles and 5.15 offensive rebounds per game.

There is of course the small matter of what Taylor has done this season to shape his narrative as one of the greatest players in school history. He’s the all-time leader in scoring (2,507 points), field goals made (967), and field goals attempted (1,804). He also finished among the program’s top-10 in rebounding, free-throws made, free-throws attempted, blocked shots and three-pointers attempted.

In May, Taylor was honored as the OVC’s Male Athlete of the Year; earlier this week, he was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, highlighting his talents and gifts on the court and the hard work he exhibited in the classroom.

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