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Celeste Taylor’s full circle moment in front of her Ohio State women’s basketball and Duke families
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
The graduate senior’s Sunday features a win or go home game against the program who helped her grow
Following Ohio State women’s basketball’s win over the Maine Black Bears on Friday, Buckeyes players took a seat in their family section to watch the Duke Blue Devils face the Richmond Spiders. Scarlet and Gray Guard Celeste Taylor, whose parents were in town to watch her final NCAA Tournament, took a detour towards the Duke section of the Schottenstein Center.
“I was at Duke for two years and I just feel like the community there was just so important to me and my family,” said Taylor. “ They would always come around and still to this day they keep in contact a lot with me. Just to be able to see those familiar faces, it is kind of exciting.”
For two seasons, Taylor led the Blue Devils, on offense as the point guard and especially on the defensive side of the court. Head coach Kara Lawson instituted a strong, defense-focused strategy that allowed Taylor to thrive.
On top of graduating from the prestigious university, the guard helped lift Duke to new levels on the court. Last season, Taylor won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a spot in the final three for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
“She just competes at a really high level,” said Lawson. “Practice, games, she takes pride in it and is competitive because she wants to win. I think that mindset is what allows her to be really good on that end.”
Taylor will jump and dive for a loose ball and disrupt any opponent in her vicinity, all the traits that make her a fan favorite for scarlet and gray-clad fans too.
The guard is not the offensive focus for the Buckeyes like she was during her days playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but as the year with Ohio State has shown, there’s more to Taylor than defense.
After averaging 7.9 points in non-conference play, Taylor’s offensive output increased to 11.7 points per game from the end of December through Friday’s win over Maine, but Taylor isn’t the only one changing in the Taylor and Duke relationship.
Following the Blue Devils’ upset defeat to the Colorado Buffaloes in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, only five players returned for Lawson’s squad, creating an opportunity for Duke to change too.
“I feel like we’re just trying to adjust to one another,” said Taylor’s former teammate Reigan Richardson. “We have a lot of freshmen on the team, so I feel like this year we’re a little athletic. We’re hungry. We’re ready to go at it.”
Despite Taylor still being friends with players and staff members at Duke, that isn’t something that will spill over into the game. Both Duke and Ohio State have their own team goals, detached from prior affiliations and family in the stands.
The Blue Devils program is a team used to advancing deep in the tournament. Duke has made the Final Four on four occasions, but not since the 2005-06 season. Taylor and the Buckeyes are trying to build a legacy like that for themselves; and in her final year of eligibility, every game has added weight for Taylor.
It’s a feeling that she already felt when she thought last year’s March Madness loss was the end of her NCAA career, so one more run as a Buckeye has been special, making competing against a former coach, teammates, and staff a much easier pill to swallow.
“It hurt, I thought it was my last game,” said Taylor. “For me, [Duke is] just another team that I have to get through my journey.”
Ohio State is the favorite in the matchup, with the Buckeyes winning its regular season conference title and Duke entering as an at-large bid. That team with only five returners goes up against a team that has two graduate seniors and four upperclassmen rotating through the starting lineup. But that doesn’t mean the Blue Devils’ youth will be an issue.
“It’s taken time, but they’ve done a great job,” said Lawson. “I think more than anything, their coachability, their excitement, their passion for the game, their willingness to be great teammates just investing in them has been a lot of fun for us as a staff, and I think it’s been fun for the players to feel their growth.”
Taylor notices the growth too.
“They’re playing within themselves, they’re doing the things that I know Coach Kara [Lawson] loves them to do, very good defensively still,” said Taylor. “I’m excited to see how they’ve grown as a program as well.”
The Buckeyes and Taylor have that chance on Sunday. They’re just hoping that the growth doesn’t show in the final score, and Taylor can put off that “last game” moment for at least one more round.
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
The graduate senior’s Sunday features a win or go home game against the program who helped her grow
Following Ohio State women’s basketball’s win over the Maine Black Bears on Friday, Buckeyes players took a seat in their family section to watch the Duke Blue Devils face the Richmond Spiders. Scarlet and Gray Guard Celeste Taylor, whose parents were in town to watch her final NCAA Tournament, took a detour towards the Duke section of the Schottenstein Center.
“I was at Duke for two years and I just feel like the community there was just so important to me and my family,” said Taylor. “ They would always come around and still to this day they keep in contact a lot with me. Just to be able to see those familiar faces, it is kind of exciting.”
For two seasons, Taylor led the Blue Devils, on offense as the point guard and especially on the defensive side of the court. Head coach Kara Lawson instituted a strong, defense-focused strategy that allowed Taylor to thrive.
On top of graduating from the prestigious university, the guard helped lift Duke to new levels on the court. Last season, Taylor won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a spot in the final three for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
“She just competes at a really high level,” said Lawson. “Practice, games, she takes pride in it and is competitive because she wants to win. I think that mindset is what allows her to be really good on that end.”
Taylor will jump and dive for a loose ball and disrupt any opponent in her vicinity, all the traits that make her a fan favorite for scarlet and gray-clad fans too.
The guard is not the offensive focus for the Buckeyes like she was during her days playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but as the year with Ohio State has shown, there’s more to Taylor than defense.
After averaging 7.9 points in non-conference play, Taylor’s offensive output increased to 11.7 points per game from the end of December through Friday’s win over Maine, but Taylor isn’t the only one changing in the Taylor and Duke relationship.
Following the Blue Devils’ upset defeat to the Colorado Buffaloes in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, only five players returned for Lawson’s squad, creating an opportunity for Duke to change too.
“I feel like we’re just trying to adjust to one another,” said Taylor’s former teammate Reigan Richardson. “We have a lot of freshmen on the team, so I feel like this year we’re a little athletic. We’re hungry. We’re ready to go at it.”
Despite Taylor still being friends with players and staff members at Duke, that isn’t something that will spill over into the game. Both Duke and Ohio State have their own team goals, detached from prior affiliations and family in the stands.
The Blue Devils program is a team used to advancing deep in the tournament. Duke has made the Final Four on four occasions, but not since the 2005-06 season. Taylor and the Buckeyes are trying to build a legacy like that for themselves; and in her final year of eligibility, every game has added weight for Taylor.
It’s a feeling that she already felt when she thought last year’s March Madness loss was the end of her NCAA career, so one more run as a Buckeye has been special, making competing against a former coach, teammates, and staff a much easier pill to swallow.
“It hurt, I thought it was my last game,” said Taylor. “For me, [Duke is] just another team that I have to get through my journey.”
Ohio State is the favorite in the matchup, with the Buckeyes winning its regular season conference title and Duke entering as an at-large bid. That team with only five returners goes up against a team that has two graduate seniors and four upperclassmen rotating through the starting lineup. But that doesn’t mean the Blue Devils’ youth will be an issue.
“It’s taken time, but they’ve done a great job,” said Lawson. “I think more than anything, their coachability, their excitement, their passion for the game, their willingness to be great teammates just investing in them has been a lot of fun for us as a staff, and I think it’s been fun for the players to feel their growth.”
Taylor notices the growth too.
“They’re playing within themselves, they’re doing the things that I know Coach Kara [Lawson] loves them to do, very good defensively still,” said Taylor. “I’m excited to see how they’ve grown as a program as well.”
The Buckeyes and Taylor have that chance on Sunday. They’re just hoping that the growth doesn’t show in the final score, and Taylor can put off that “last game” moment for at least one more round.
Continue reading...