Banks and Taylor named JC Smith basketball coaches

COASTAL CAROLINA ATHLETICS

Vanessa Taylor, who coached Johnson C. Smith women's basketball to the 2009 CIAA tournament title, returns to the Golden Bulls after stints as an assistant at Coastal Carolina, Queens and Lander.

Johnson C. Smith is bringing back familiar faces to stabilize Golden Bulls basketball.

The school removed the interim tag from men’s coach Antwain Banks and announced Vanessa Taylor has returned as women’s coach. Banks, who was named interim coach in April 2024, led the Golden Bulls to a 15-13 (8-8 CIAA) record in his first season and the program’s first CIAA tournament win since 2020.

As successor to CIAA Hall of Fame inductee Steve Joyner, Banks took over a program that won 600 games and three conference tournament titles (2001, 2008, 2009) under his predecessor but fell from the CIAA’s upper tier since sharing the South Division title in 2020.

“I understand the climate of basketball these days with the way the transfer portal is, the way recruiting is you can turn over a roster in a year,” Banks said in December. “With me getting the job in May and the roster pretty much set we’ve got to roll with what we’ve got, but that’s perfectly fine. Coach Joyner did a phenomenal job to recruit some great kids first and foremost. I’m just trying to come and get established here an d continue to build this thing up so we can consistently be at the top to contend for CIAA championships.”

Taylor, who was hired after a season at Lander, was Golden Bulls coach from 2001-12, where she went 215-112 and led JCSU to five NCAA Division II berths (2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012) in addition to the 2009 CIAA title and 2006 Western Division crown. She coached the Golden Bulls to a school record 26-5 record in 2010-11 and earned CIAA Coach of the Year.

Golden Bulls women’s basketball has been in free fall since coach Steve Joyner Jr. quit early in the 2022-23 season after nine years and a 147-102 record. Four coaches led the programs since his resignation.

Taylor left JCSU for Division I North Carolina Central, where she coached the from 2012-17. Since then, she was an assistant at Coastal Carolina for five seasons (2018-22) before spending two years at Queens.

Taylor, who has 331 wins as a head coach over 23 seasons, started at Elizabeth City State, where she led the Vikings to the CIAA East Division title with a 22-5 record, and was named CIAA Coach of the Year in 1997–98 and 1999–2000.

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