Scarlet Sunrise: Duke guard Celeste Taylor transfers to Ohio State
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Duke guard Celeste Taylor transfers to Ohio State
Ohio State women’s basketball continued its positive momentum with the addition of Duke transfer guard Celeste Taylor Thursday. Taylor is the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game this past season for the Blue Devils.
Taylor spent two seasons at Duke, but she started her college career at Texas, where she started 52 games across two seasons.
The 5-foot-11 guard has yet to have a season where she’s averaged fewer than 9.3 points per game. She’s averaged double-digit scoring figures each of the last three seasons. Taylor registered six 15-plus-point performances during 2022-23, a year in which she shot a career-high 39.4% from the field, including 32.1% from downtown. She knocked down at least three 3-pointers in seven games this past season.
But she’s known best for her defense. Taylor has piled up 215 steals over her four-year career, twice averaging more than 2.0 steals per game in a season: once at Texas and once at Duke. The best moment of her first-team All-ACC season in 2022-23 was arguably her second-round NCAA Tournament performance against Colorado when she became the first women’s player to record an 8-8-8-8 stat line in March Madness since 2000. She tallied eight points, eight assists, 10 rebounds and a Duke single-game record 10 steals in the loss.
Taylor will join Jacy Sheldon, a backcourt leader who has averaged 1.9 steals per game in four years in a Buckeyes uniform. Together, they will likely be tasked with piloting head coach Kevin McGuff’s vaunted press defense next season.
Taylor — a Valley Stream, New York, native — is poised to replace Taylor Mikesell in Ohio State’s starting five next season. Mikesell was drafted in the second round by the Indiana Fever earlier this offseason.
Assessing spring impact of Buckeyes additions from first transfer window
The spring transfer portal window is now a third of the way over. Ohio State has yet to make a move. But the Buckeyes were quite active, at least for program standards, in the winter window.
Fifth-year head coach Ryan Day and his staff added six scholarship transfers back then: Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter, Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun, Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia, Louisiana-Monroe offensive lineman Victor Cutler Jr., Arizona State long snapper John Ferlmann and Kent State kicker Casey Magyar.
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Lettermen Row is examining that group’s early returns. In other words, what was their impact this spring?
Check it out here.
RELATED
Re-ranking Ohio State position groups by depth
Now that the Ohio State spring season is in the rear view mirror, it’s a good time to re-assess the Buckeyes roster.
Lettermen Row is re-ranking Ohio State’s position groups by depth, on both sides of the ball. Wide receivers remain king, offensive line is still a concern and the Buckeyes’ secondary is quite crowded. But what about the rest of the team?
To find out how each position group in the offense and defense currently stacks up, depth-wise, go here and here, respectively.
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 135 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 219 days
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