CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On the evening of April 7, 2021, then-South Charleston freshman Wayne Harris attended the Winfield at Sissonville boys basketball game.
Harris watched friends compete as the Generals picked up a win against the Indians.
After the game as he headed home and picked up cell phone reception on his way, Harris would soon discover tragic news — former Capital High School athletic standout K.J. Taylor, a cousin of Harris’ — had been shot and killed on Charleston’s west side at the age of 18.
“When I got service, my phone started going crazy,” Harris recalled. “Everybody had said K.J. got shot.”
Harris, now a sophomore at South Charleston, was three years younger than Taylor. The duo developed a special bond throughout their childhood thanks in large part to their athletic prowess — a bond so tight Harris had a different family title for Taylor.
“That was my full blood cousin, but we grew up with each other, and I looked up to him,” Harris said. “He was like my big brother, so I call him my brother.”
Harris, like much of the Charleston community, was left shocked and devastated upon learning of Taylor’s death.
“I didn’t want to believe it,” he said. “Nobody expects that.”
While Harris continues to cope with the loss of a loved one, the two-sport star for the Black Eagles strives to remember the plethora of positive aspects Taylor brought into his life.
“I looked up to him in sports and in life,” Harris said. “Looked up to how he carried himself and he was always himself around anybody. He could always make the room brighten up. Just a good person who wanted to make it far for our family and help provide for others.”
Taylor was an integral part of Capital’s football and boys basketball teams, and when he feared high school football season in West Virginia was in jeopardy in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, Taylor went to play at Chandler High in Arizona. He then returned to Charleston and was set to graduate from Capital.
Harris was well aware of Taylor’s talents.
“I always had to play against him growing up,” Harris said. “Working out, going to the field, I always played up and went against him.”
Harris, a football and basketball standout himself at South Charleston, strives to continue Taylor’s legacy. Harris has made quite a name for himself over the first half of his high school career.
The SCHS point guard recently led the Black Eagles to a Class AAAA Region III, Section 1 championship, their first state tournament appearance since 2014 and a victory in a quarterfinal against defending state champion George Washington — the same team South Charleston beat for its sectional crown.
A successful 21-6 season came to an end for the Black Eagles in a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Morgantown, but the campaign continued a resurgence for South Charleston. Part of that revival can be attributed to Harris, a 5-foot-8 point guard who draws no shortage of attention from opposing defenses, but uses his vast array of skills to work around defenders, while consistently creating havoc with his ball-handling and penetration.
“We have a lot of pieces and we’re young,” Harris said of a South Charleston team with three seniors this season. “Last year was kind of a building year for experience and it showed a little bit. This year, we went 21-6, so we know how good we can be. We just have to come to work. This next year coming up and my senior year, I could be looking at a state championship.”
In a 53-49 victory last Thursday over GW at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center, Harris led all players with 25 points, making 7-of-12 field goals and 11-of-17 free throws. He also added three steals.
The next night, in the Black Eagles’ loss to Morgantown, the Mohigans pounced on SC when Harris went to the bench with four fouls in the third quarter. He still managed to make 7-of-9 shots in a 17-point effort that also saw Harris finish with six assists as he scored or assisted all but three SC field goals in the season-ending setback.
Harris was one of eight players named to the Class AAAA all-tournament team for his showing over the two games.
“Last year, I didn’t want to mess up, but this year, I played more free,” Harris said. “I can play with more confidence still.”
Harris indicated he plans to play in several AAU tournaments and won’t go long without picking up a basketball during the offseason, but much of his focus for the remainder of spring and throughout summer will be geared toward football.
“When I’m playing basketball, I like basketball, but I miss football,” Harris said. “Whichever season it is, that’s what mood I’m in. I can’t wait for the next one coming up.”
A wide receiver and cornerback, Harris got his feet wet with valuable playing time on an unbeaten South Charleston squad in 2020 that was deemed state champion by virtue of the color-coded COVID-19 map.
He elevated his game to another level as a sophomore. Harris earned Class AAA second-team all-state and all-Mountain State Athletic Conference first-team honors after catching 58 passes for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns over nine regular-season games. Harris, who changed to wear No. 6 in football to honor Taylor’s legacy, also made 63 tackles with two interceptions and forced a pair of fumbles from his spot in the secondary.
In a first-round playoff loss to Cabell Midland, Harris was responsible for both of his team’s touchdowns, giving him 13 receiving scores as a sophomore.
The Black Eagles finished 5-6 as they were unable to duplicate their success from Harris’ first high school season. This year, they’ll be led by first-year head coach Carl Lee, an accomplished cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings from 1983-1993. Lee replaced Donnie Mays after he took the same position at Hurricane.
“I’ve gotten to meet coach and I’m excited for next season,” Harris said. “He’s surrounded us with other great coaches as well.”
As Harris continues to make his mark and shine on both the gridiron and hardwood, Taylor never strays far from his mind.
“Before every game, I pray,” Harris said. “I try to talk to him before my games.”