Women’s Basketball: ACC Defensive Player of the Year Taylor brings pride and tenacity to Buckeyes

David Skovira
Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:39:51 +0000
Basketball, Instagram Page, News, Sports, Beth Howe, Buckeyes, buckeyes basketball, Buckeyes women’s basketball, Carla Morrow, Celeste Taylor, Cotie McMahon, Diana Collins, Eboni Walker, Emma Shumate, Jacy Sheldon, Jalen Powell, Kaia Henderson, Karla Vres, Kennedy Cambridge, Kevin McGuff, Madison Greene, ohio state, ohio state basketball, Ohio State women's basketball, Ohio State women's basketball roster, ohio state women's basketball schedule, Ohio State women's basketball score, osu, OSU basketball, Osu women’s basketball, Rebeka Mikulasikova, Reid Guzdanski [and 6 more]

The Ohio State womens basketball team breaks before then-No. 13 Ohio States 87-75 upset win over then-No. 5 Tennessee Nov. 8, 2022. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Lantern File Photo

As the Ohio State women’s basketball team begins ramping things up ahead of the upcoming season, new faces are expected to contribute to a team that already has championship aspirations.

One of those new faces is graduate transfer Celeste Taylor, who said she joined the Buckeyes because of the team’s culture and recent success — 28-8 overall in 2022 and a loss in the Elite Eight to No. 1 Virginia Tech.?

However, her personal connection with assistant coach Jalen Powell also played a major factor, she said

“Her [Powell’s] dad was my trainer when I was younger, so I’ve known her for quite some time now,” Taylor said. “It just made it a little bit easier to make that decision.”

Taylor comes to Ohio State from Duke, where she was the leading scorer for the Blue Devils last season, averaging 11.4 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

She helped lead the Blue Devils to a 26-7 record, which wasn’t expected after finishing four games above a .500 record the year before.

Prior to that, she played her freshman season with the Texas Longhorns, where she was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. Taylor started 26 of 30 games, averaging 9.3 points.

After a year of adjusting to the ins and outs of college basketball, Taylor entered her second and final season with the Longhorns, averaging a career-best 12.3 points per game.?

However, Texas’s 2020-21 season would end with a loss to No.1 South Carolina in the Elite Eight.

Despite her scoring numbers, the 5-foot-11 guard from Valley Stream, New York, is primarily known for her elite-level defense. She averaged 2.1 steals last season and won the 2022-23 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award.

Even with this, Taylor said she knew she was missing something and ventured into the transfer portal, searching for something new. After being recruited twice to play at Ohio State, the third time was the charm for the Buckeyes.

Taylor announced her commitment to Ohio State via Twitter on April 20, 2022. Six months later, Taylor has found her niche, fitting right into the Buckeye locker room.?

She said she hopes to bring her abilities on the defensive side of the ball to the program. Ultimately, she said it comes down to her pride not to let anybody score on her.?

“Being able to keep people in front of me, then having that high IQ on angles, which route to take and just understanding schemes and how people play, it was always important to me,” Taylor said. “I knew that was going to get me on the floor, and I was okay with being that defensive person because I’m here to win overall.”

Her defensive tenacity will be needed, especially after the exit of the Buckeye starting guard, Taylor Mikesell, to the WNBA. Mikesell averaged 1.4 steals a game, which was fourth-best on the team.

With Taylor’s arrival, she is expected to improve the team’s half-court defense and add to the Buckeyes’ signature full-court press, which caused teams havoc last season. The Buckeyes forced turnovers on 23 percent of their opponents’ possessions during the 2022-23 season,? recording a total of 25 turnovers. They averaged over 20 a game and were ranked a top 20 national defense in turnovers forced per game.

Taylor’s presence will likely create fast-break-scoring opportunities that could be critical against high-powered offensive teams and those with multiple ball handlers. Buckeye graduate guard Jacy Sheldon said she’s already seen the ways in which Taylor can contribute to the team’s success entering the upcoming season.

“She’s going to fit into our style of play,” Sheldon said. “She’s really quick, so she has the ability to penetrate and kick out or penetrate and finish. Defensively, she gets her hands on everything, is really quick and moves her feet.”

Head coach Kevin McGuff said he’s excited to see what Taylor can bring to the team. McGuff said her personality, work ethic and maturity, both on and off the court, have contributed to her fitting right in.

“She’s an elite competitor,” McGuff said. “One of the best defenders I’ve ever had a chance to coach, and I think she is a really talented offensive player who will flourish in the system that we have.”

The Buckeyes open the season against Southern California in Las Vegas Nov. 6.?

Going into her final year of eligibility, Taylor expressed her hunger to bring home some hardware to Columbus at the end of the season.

“We have the goal of winning a national championship,” Taylor said. “We are going to work as hard as we can to get there and hopefully that plays into our hand.”