ThomasCostello
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Entering final season, Taylor Thierry key to Ohio State women’s basketball success
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Thierry continues to grow and will have an enhanced role for the 2024-25 season
College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is getting you ready with a series of player previews. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for more player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.
For years, the extra year of eligibility granted to student-athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of the sport. Players stayed at schools longer, transferred more, and provided roster stability. Now, most of the 2021-22 class of freshmen are entering their final collegiate seasons and for Ohio State women’s basketball, that means one more season of head coach Kevin McGuff’s Swiss Army knife fans know as Taylor Thierry.
Name: Taylor Thierry
Position: Forward/Guard
Class: Senior
High School: Laurel High School (Shaker Heights, Ohio)
2023-24 Stats: 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, .610 FG%, .448 3FG%, .757 FT%
In the 2022-23 season, Thierry went from a freshman who had increasing responsibility off the bench to a starter. Thierry hasn’t relinquished that spot since and last season continued showing the growth that’s made the quiet kid from Northeast Ohio into a consistent force on both sides of the ball.
Strictly comparing numbers from her first starting season to her second shows a dip in points, rebounds, and assists per game but Thierry’s impact makes an argument for being vital to team success.
Using offensive rating, a complicated formula including shooting percentage, times fouled, opponent point differential, and more shows that Thierry’s impact is the most wide-reaching not only in the Big Ten but the country.
In Division I, Thierry led the nation with an offensive rating of 135.2. The top 10 players in offensive rating also included stars like UConn’s Paige Bueckers, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, and Utah’s Alissa Pili.
“She’s a really consistent player. She’s got great work ethic and discipline. So you tell her to do something she’s going to do it right and she’s going to keep doing it,” said McGuff about Thierry. “She’s always in the right spot defensively, she’s a great defender. She’s a good rebounder. She can score the ball. She’s unselfish.”
The decline of traditional stats can be chalked up to a less effective offense for the Buckeyes. Losing the three-point shooting of Taylor Mikesell meant fewer rebounds, fewer made shots for assists, and fewer passes inside to Thierry for easy baskets. Even so, Thierry was as consistent as a player can be.
When calculating a player’s true field goal percentage (including two-point, three-point, and free throw percentage), Thierry had a 67.3% true percentage, which is top of the Big Ten.
A good example of that is the Buckeyes’ trip to Maryland in January. The usual offensive linchpins of Jacy Sheldon and Cotie McMahon started the game slow. That’s when Thierry shined, grabbing six offensive rebounds and scoring 17 points. Seven of which came in the third quarter, helping Ohio State keep up with the Terrapins before a fourth-quarter performance of the year by McMahon brought the game to the Buckeyes’ win column.
Thierry always producing at a consistent clip meant Ohio State was usually always in games and provided the support for the names who usually grab more attention like Sheldon and McMahon for their key moments in games.
While playing the support role and always being there in the background has been crucial for Ohio State, McGuff wants Thierry to be more assertive.
That means more shooting. More driving to the basket. Turn Thierry into that player grabbing attention and taking over games from the forefront.
Efficiency is definitely important to me. I don’t really like missing shots, I’m sure anyone else could say the same thing,” said Thierry. “I’m going to be more offensively aggressive, just taking the open shot and having the confidence that my teammates trust me to take those shots.”
An area to watch is beyond the arc. Thierry is the type of player who stays late after practice to take more shots. It’s something she did alongside the renowned deep shooter Mikesell in their two years together in Columbus.
Last season, when Thierry was open and missed a three-point attempt, it was usually followed up with more hesitancy to try it again. It would stretch to other games too where Thierry felt more comfortable finding a teammate instead of taking the open look. This year that could change.
In previous years, Thierry has shown the aptitude to adjust. As a freshman, it was Thierry getting down on herself for fouls and not playing as aggressively. The soft-spoken forward worked through it. Even taking threes themselves is a sign of the player’s growth after being known mostly as an interior presence in her first year and a half.
Defensively, each season Thierry’s made strides off the ball, and expect that to continue. McGuff often mentions how Thierry is usually the most athletic player in whatever game she steps into. With Sheldon and Celeste Taylor gone, Thierry’s role in the press will be even more important and will lead to her best defensive year in her career.
The only way you don’t see Thierry playing is injury. McGuff’s starting lineup has Thierry’s name written in permanent ink.
There may be speed bumps early in the season with Thierry asserting herself more, but the level of opponent not stretching outside of mid-major sides will lessen the burden.
Outside of another standout defensive year, once the Buckeyes’ offense gels in Big Ten play, Thierry could also have her best offensive season. Ohio State is full of offensive weapons like McMahon and newcomers Chance Gray and Jaloni Cambridge. With the presence all of them will demand from opposing defenses, Thierry will get the chance to go one-on-one and drive, or drive-and-dish to one of the many outlets around her.
Also, rebounding won’t completely be on Thierry’s shoulders with the addition of Ajae Petty from the transfer portal. That extra freedom will be evident with Thierry hurting opponents from anywhere on the offensive side of the court.
Thierry has a real chance to not only end her NCAA career as a conference First Team player but also an honorable mention for AP All-American.
Despite it being in a losing effort, the 20-point performance of Thierry against the UCLA Bruins shows the diverse skillset of the Ohio State senior.
Miss a player preview? Click the links below to learn more about the 2024-25 Buckeyes roster:
Madison Greene
Eboni Walker
Ava Watson
Chance Gray
Elsa Lemmilä
Kennedy Cambridge
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
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Thierry continues to grow and will have an enhanced role for the 2024-25 season
College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is getting you ready with a series of player previews. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for more player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.
For years, the extra year of eligibility granted to student-athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of the sport. Players stayed at schools longer, transferred more, and provided roster stability. Now, most of the 2021-22 class of freshmen are entering their final collegiate seasons and for Ohio State women’s basketball, that means one more season of head coach Kevin McGuff’s Swiss Army knife fans know as Taylor Thierry.
Name: Taylor Thierry
Position: Forward/Guard
Class: Senior
High School: Laurel High School (Shaker Heights, Ohio)
2023-24 Stats: 11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, .610 FG%, .448 3FG%, .757 FT%
Last Season
In the 2022-23 season, Thierry went from a freshman who had increasing responsibility off the bench to a starter. Thierry hasn’t relinquished that spot since and last season continued showing the growth that’s made the quiet kid from Northeast Ohio into a consistent force on both sides of the ball.
Strictly comparing numbers from her first starting season to her second shows a dip in points, rebounds, and assists per game but Thierry’s impact makes an argument for being vital to team success.
Using offensive rating, a complicated formula including shooting percentage, times fouled, opponent point differential, and more shows that Thierry’s impact is the most wide-reaching not only in the Big Ten but the country.
In Division I, Thierry led the nation with an offensive rating of 135.2. The top 10 players in offensive rating also included stars like UConn’s Paige Bueckers, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, and Utah’s Alissa Pili.
“She’s a really consistent player. She’s got great work ethic and discipline. So you tell her to do something she’s going to do it right and she’s going to keep doing it,” said McGuff about Thierry. “She’s always in the right spot defensively, she’s a great defender. She’s a good rebounder. She can score the ball. She’s unselfish.”
The decline of traditional stats can be chalked up to a less effective offense for the Buckeyes. Losing the three-point shooting of Taylor Mikesell meant fewer rebounds, fewer made shots for assists, and fewer passes inside to Thierry for easy baskets. Even so, Thierry was as consistent as a player can be.
When calculating a player’s true field goal percentage (including two-point, three-point, and free throw percentage), Thierry had a 67.3% true percentage, which is top of the Big Ten.
A good example of that is the Buckeyes’ trip to Maryland in January. The usual offensive linchpins of Jacy Sheldon and Cotie McMahon started the game slow. That’s when Thierry shined, grabbing six offensive rebounds and scoring 17 points. Seven of which came in the third quarter, helping Ohio State keep up with the Terrapins before a fourth-quarter performance of the year by McMahon brought the game to the Buckeyes’ win column.
Thierry always producing at a consistent clip meant Ohio State was usually always in games and provided the support for the names who usually grab more attention like Sheldon and McMahon for their key moments in games.
What to Expect
While playing the support role and always being there in the background has been crucial for Ohio State, McGuff wants Thierry to be more assertive.
That means more shooting. More driving to the basket. Turn Thierry into that player grabbing attention and taking over games from the forefront.
Efficiency is definitely important to me. I don’t really like missing shots, I’m sure anyone else could say the same thing,” said Thierry. “I’m going to be more offensively aggressive, just taking the open shot and having the confidence that my teammates trust me to take those shots.”
An area to watch is beyond the arc. Thierry is the type of player who stays late after practice to take more shots. It’s something she did alongside the renowned deep shooter Mikesell in their two years together in Columbus.
Last season, when Thierry was open and missed a three-point attempt, it was usually followed up with more hesitancy to try it again. It would stretch to other games too where Thierry felt more comfortable finding a teammate instead of taking the open look. This year that could change.
In previous years, Thierry has shown the aptitude to adjust. As a freshman, it was Thierry getting down on herself for fouls and not playing as aggressively. The soft-spoken forward worked through it. Even taking threes themselves is a sign of the player’s growth after being known mostly as an interior presence in her first year and a half.
Defensively, each season Thierry’s made strides off the ball, and expect that to continue. McGuff often mentions how Thierry is usually the most athletic player in whatever game she steps into. With Sheldon and Celeste Taylor gone, Thierry’s role in the press will be even more important and will lead to her best defensive year in her career.
Prediction
The only way you don’t see Thierry playing is injury. McGuff’s starting lineup has Thierry’s name written in permanent ink.
There may be speed bumps early in the season with Thierry asserting herself more, but the level of opponent not stretching outside of mid-major sides will lessen the burden.
Outside of another standout defensive year, once the Buckeyes’ offense gels in Big Ten play, Thierry could also have her best offensive season. Ohio State is full of offensive weapons like McMahon and newcomers Chance Gray and Jaloni Cambridge. With the presence all of them will demand from opposing defenses, Thierry will get the chance to go one-on-one and drive, or drive-and-dish to one of the many outlets around her.
Also, rebounding won’t completely be on Thierry’s shoulders with the addition of Ajae Petty from the transfer portal. That extra freedom will be evident with Thierry hurting opponents from anywhere on the offensive side of the court.
Thierry has a real chance to not only end her NCAA career as a conference First Team player but also an honorable mention for AP All-American.
Highlights
Despite it being in a losing effort, the 20-point performance of Thierry against the UCLA Bruins shows the diverse skillset of the Ohio State senior.
Other Player Previews
Miss a player preview? Click the links below to learn more about the 2024-25 Buckeyes roster:
Madison Greene
Eboni Walker
Ava Watson
Chance Gray
Elsa Lemmilä
Kennedy Cambridge
Continue reading...