Community mourns Jakolbi Taylor; funeral to be held Saturday

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Roanoke is preparing to say farewell to one of its own as the community gathers for the funeral of 16-year-old Jakolbi Taylor.

Jakolbi was shot and killed after a basketball tournament in Myrtle Beach over the weekend. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. and will take place at Patrick Henry High School, where Jakolbi’s passion for basketball flourished.

His journey with basketball began almost as soon as he could walk.

“He was a phenomenal basketball player, a great basketball player, but Jakolbi the person, he was even better,” reminisced Jakolbi’s AAU Coach Christian Kirchman.

Jakolbi was known for his infectious energy, love for the game, and dedication to his family. He was a rising star on and off the court.

“All he wanted to do was play basketball, make good grades, and make it out for his family, really for his “Mimi” and his family,” explained Kirchman.

“Mimi,” as Jakolbi affectionately called his grandmother Paula Basham, raised him as her own son and was deeply committed to supporting his dreams, particularly his aspiration to reach the NBA.

“That’s my baby,” Basham affirmed. “Whatever it takes to get him to where he needs to be.”

For Jakolbi, basketball wasn’t merely a hobby or a dream – it was a lifeline.

“Basketball kept him out of a lot of mess,” noted Basham.

Growing up on ​Melrose Avenue, in a part of the city plagued by gun violence, Jakolbi found purpose on the court.

“Everybody knows in Roanoke... a lot goes on over here and these areas, Melrose area, the Northwest every period,” said Jakolbi’s Grandfather Alfred Day. “So, we was always sending Jakolbi to the camps.”

“He wasn’t involved in gangs, he wasn’t affiliated with gangs, he was just a regular kid from the Roanoke Valley who loved basketball, who had a dream and a goal to go division one,” said Kirchman.

But his promising future was cut short after a basketball tournament in Myrtle Beach this past weekend. Just hours after scoring 43 points and leading his team to a win, Jakolbi was gunned down.

“We know where we’re from. We know what happens in these environments,” explained Jakolbi’s Aunt Briana Taylor. “So, we were proactive. That’s what this was all for.”

His family worked so hard to keep him safe, but in the end, Jakolbi couldn’t escape the violence.

“We took the proper steps. We kept him away from it,” said Taylor. “And it still met him.”

As the family grapples with their loss, they plead for an end to senseless violence.

“It’s so much hatred in his world to the point where nowadays you can say something to a person and they take it to the next level, just like that,” added Day.

His death leaves a silence in their home and hearts – once filled with his basketball. “He loved it so much,” said Basham. “I don’t have that sound now. I don’t have my baby dribbling the ball in a house somewhere ….that’s all he loved to do was play basketball.”

The community is invited to attend his funeral at Patrick Henry High School to celebrate his life, honor his memory, and support his grieving family during this difficult time.