High school basketball: Five-star junior J.J. Taylor headed to Donda Academy

Kanye West's newly-formed Donda Academy (Simi Valley, Calif.) debuted at No. 14 in the MaxPreps Preseason Independent Top 20 rankings earlier this week and remained in the headlines Friday with five-star junior J.J. Taylor announcing his transfer to the school via Instagram.

The 6-foot-8 wing is regarded as the No. 5 prospect in the Class of 2023 according to 247Sports. He spent last season at Kenwood (Chicago), where he earned MaxPreps Sophomore All-American honors after averaging 28.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals per outing to lead the Broncos to a 12-2 record.

Taylor joins a formidable Donda Academy roster that includes fellow five-star talents Robert Dillingham and Jahki Howard along with four-star prospects Brandon White, Jalen Hooks and Zion Cruz.

The upstart, first-year program is expected to compete against a high-level national schedule that includes games against nationally-ranked Link Academy (Branson, Mo.), Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) and Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) along with a trip to the John Wall Holiday Invitational in Raleigh, N.C. in late December.