Jack Taylor, a player for theNCAA Division III Grinnell College Pioneers Basketball team set an NCAA record last night, but it’s quite honestly less than impressive:
Jack Taylor thought his cold shooting from the weekend was spilling into the week.
Turns out, Taylor was about to heat up.
The Grinnell College sophomore guard scored an NCAA-record 138 points during the Pioneers’ 179-104 win Tuesday night against Faith Baptist Bible College in an Iowa-school Division III matchup.
“I don’t think reality has really set in yet,” Taylor said after the game. “I think it definitely will in the next few days. I can’t really get my mind around it right now.
Taylor, a 5-10, 170-pound guard from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, shot 52-of-108 from the field, 27-of-71 from 3-point range, and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line to finish with the historic, head-shaking line of 138 points.
The 138 points passed Clarence “Bevo” Francis who held both the NCAA and collegiate scoring mark when he dropped 113 points for Rio Grande College of Ohio vs. Hillside in 1954.
“It’s kind of a life-changing moment,” Grinnell coach David Arseneault said.
Impressive? I suppose, but it’s not like they were playing a basketball powerhouse here. Their opponent was the Faith Bible Baptist College Eagles. As far as I can tell, neither of these teams has made it to the NCAA March Madness Tournament, nor have they ever won their respective conference championships. Additionally, based on some of the video I’ve seen of the game it’s rather obvious that Taylor’s teammates were deliberately passing the ball to him and letting him score points that they also could have easily made, clearly an intent to run up his own point total. I’m not saying this isn’t an achievement, but let’s see him do the same thing against a team ranked in the AP Top 25 and then I’ll be impressed.
Update: Deadspin argues that D-III Player’s 138 Point-Game Is A Sham Record And Shouldn’t Be Celebrated By Anyone
