Vincent Caldwell Taylor was born September 11, 1960, in Lexington, Kentucky — the heart of basketball country, where the sport is closer to religion than recreation. He was the son of Vertner and Joan Taylor. His sister, Janet, would go on to become Dr. Janet Taylor, a prominent psychiatrist and television commentator.
Vince grew up watching University of Kentucky legends: Jack Givens, who scored 41 points in the 1978 national championship game, and James Lee, who started alongside Givens on that title team. But the real basketball education happened on the playgrounds — the Dirt Bowl, Castlewood Park, the court on Thomas Street in Aspendale. Those were the proving grounds where Lexington’s talent gathered. The playground regulars included Dirk Minnefield, who would play at Kentucky and in the NBA, and Melvin Turpin, the 6-11 center drafted sixth overall by Cleveland. Vince Taylor held his own against all of them.
At Tates Creek High School, Taylor played for Coach Nolan Barger, who drilled fundamentals and mental discipline into his players with a relentlessness that would serve Taylor for the rest of his life. Junior year: Tates Creek ranked number one in the state. Senior year, 1978: 29.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG, led the state in scoring, First Team All-State, McDonald’s All-American. The best player in a state that produces more basketball players per capita than almost anywhere in the country.
Every school wanted him. Kentucky wanted him — of course. He was a Lexington kid, a playground legend. Choosing the Wildcats would have been the easy path. Vince Taylor chose Duke. Coach Bill Foster had just taken the program to the national championship game. Taylor arrived in 1978, and two years later, Foster left and Mike Krzyzewski arrived. Taylor played for both — the coach who built the stage and the coach who would fill it with champions. He was there for the handoff. He stayed.