Celeste Taylor in the Portal

Wow. This stuns me. She would have been a star next year (heck she was this year). Hate to see her to - but wish her amazing success.

 

Where did that come from?

 

See the 2021 transfer season thread.

 

She will be missed--one of my favorite players. Homesick? She seemed to have bought into Vic's style.

 

No. Say it ain't so. Love you Celeste wish you all the best.

Well there goes another scorer. Hopefully Vic brings in more scorers and a new offense. I loathe that basket weave offense.

 

Because we haven’t had the shooters to make it effective. But I can tell you that you should learn to love it because it’s a staple of Vic’s program

 

A little louder for the naysayers in the back, please.

 

Near the end of her tenure, Coach KA lamented the transfer portal and how easy it has become for players who do not like one thing a coach does that leads them to enter the portal.

 

I wish her the very best as she has been my favorite player the past two years, but man, it’s going to be hard to see her in another uniform. I will always root for her as an individual and hopefully she’ll be on a team that won’t make this pill even more difficult to swallow.

 

This does not surprise me at all. Her chemistry seemed off with the coach all season. I think her chemistry with Allen-Taylor was probably one of the thing that made the year a happier one for her.

 

Best of luck to Celeste. Happy for her, sad for Texas.

 

That was fast; almost like it's been in the works for a while. It's definitely not within driving distance of NY, but I guess it's in the same time zone.

 

Ball called it, good luck to her. I wouldn't be surprised if Oliver also goes there as well. Her and Celeste are really good friends.

 

Great choice! Kara is getting some good ones and I'm happy for her... happy for Celeste as well. We're going to have to change @BALL IS LIFE 's name to CRYSTAL BALL IS LIFE!

On another note, so much for the homesick routine.

 

Have to disagree just a bit (just). I think that if she'd gone West Coast, then I would have said the homesickness was a falsehood. Being a long drive down from Long Island to NC? (Google says it's 8 hours), I say it was true. But my opinion and I don't want to think of any player rejecting us.

 

I don't doubt that being closer is better, and yes she's WAYYYY closer. However...

Oh well, bottom line she's moved on to a good place and I'll be rooting for her success for sure. Can't wait to see what Kara Lawson does at Duke, as I've always been very fond of her.

 

While we’re on the subject, in the comments for that duke post Celeste made on instagram, she responds to a congratulatory comment Kerala Chapel made. She said “make something shake in the SEC now.” Did I miss something or are we expecting to lose another staff member? I don’t think this would be a significant loss, but just curious now.

 

More than likely.

 

Celeste played hard, and gave it her all at Texas; we don't reach the Elite 8 without her playing her hardest; she never packed it in no matter what issues she was facing. Her great play down the stretch will actually pay dividends for Vic's program in the short-term as it brought a lot of attention to Texas. Her reasons for leaving Texas are hers, and I certainly don't know what they are for certain.

But, in her first season at Texas, her parents attended many games in person in Austin.. In her second season, pandemic forced a lot of no-fan games at the FEC. So, even if her parents were able to fly down (if they felt safe doing so), they couldn't attend games. Conversely, Duke canceled pretty much their entire season (which I still don't understand); so, if she had been at Duke this past season, she wouldn't have been able to play the game she loves.

If she thinks the "Cameron Crazies" support women's hoops, she's in for an eye-opening experience with fan attendance. While Kara is bringing in some good to great transfers, the ones I've paid attention to (Nyah Green and Celeste) play the same position (SG/SF), as does Jordyn Oliver (who based on her twitter follows, definitely has an affinity for Duke).

NC State and North Carolina are certainly loading up on talent, too And, Jeff Waltz keeps the talent rolling into Louisville. ACC will be tough, as even Fortner got her Georgia Tech team to the Sweet 16 this season. It won't be easy for Kara learning on the job; for sure she'll take her lumps. Since she didn't really get to coach this season, I have no idea if she will get it done at Duke or not.

 

Gordan is also a SF.

 

Yep. She only has one season of eligibility remaining.

Kara also has a verbal commitment from 2022 SG Ashlon Jackson out of Texas.

 

So it seems Taylor's father reads these message boards based on his tweets and I think he is getting the impression that we are talking down on Celeste which is not the case at all. From what I've read, everyone has been very supportive in her decision to be closer to home and I personally couldn't be happier for her. I completely understand needing to be closer to home and doing what's best for you. She has done amazing things for Texas and I think we can all agree that we wish her nothing but the best and much success at Duke.

This Vic momentum is not stopping and whoever is on the roster is who I want to see this team go to war with. No time to reminisce and hang our heads. We all knew this was a possibility not just for Taylor but for other players as well. Can't do anything but wish them nothing but success and blessings

 

Well, he's gonna have to develop thicker skin. Tweeting that some are trying to make his daughter out to be a "villain" is crazy; I certainly haven't seen any of that here.

I saw his tweet about cost of flights to Austin versus cost of flights to Raleigh, NC, and the driving distance from NY. Driving distance has not changed from two years ago. And, air fare is the same as it was two-three years ago when Celeste decided to come to Texas. So, those things were known way back. It almost sounds like her Dad wants her closer to home (which is fine as I understand they are a close-knit family).

And, I've flown the past 12 months during the pandemic, and flights in general have been a lot less expensive than they were pre-pandemic; they are starting to go up again, but that's typical for Spring/Summer.

 

I agree with you 1000%!!!!! I just had to say it and clarify because, it seems that he thinks we are salty or hurt by her decision which is not the case at all. Literally everyone who participates in the WBB thread has wished her nothing but the best and expressed excitement for her. The people in this thread are not bitter people whatsoever and are genuinely happy for her but at the same time if she doesn't feel Texas is the best place for her now then there is nothing anyone can do about it. We all have moved on with the players we have and the players that are coming in and no time to look back

 

Celeste has been wished nothing but the best from everyone here. She deserves to play where she is happy, and obviously that was not the case this past year. Whatever the reason(s) it is what it is.

As Moooo said she played great in the NCAA's and we wouldn't have gone as far as we did without her contributions... or Joanne's, Kyra's, Charli's, Audrey's, Lauren's, etc. I'm certainly not upset that she's gone. Celeste is going to do well at Duke, and we're going to do well in Austin.

 

My point exactly! I'm Excited to see what talent Vic brings to this team this off-season

 

This isn't the only Longhorn message board. I think it is the best, but that's to be expected. Maybe papa has been on places other than Hornfans and developed his perception there.

 

Yeah the fact that he’s explaining himself is sorta sad. I get being upset, or hurt, or whatever, but he truly needs thicker skin.
There will always be people bitching and complaining about someone. That’s life. Ya gotta mute that noise and move on. From what I’ve seen on social media, CT has been nothing but positively supported with her new Duke journey. I myself wish her nothing but the best. Texas will be aight with her though and that’s a fact. Let’s us all move on from this transfer drama and focus on the new talent we got coming in. Like Jacob said earlier that Vic momentum ain’t stopping. Not anytime soon especially with the Moody basketball court coming soon. I’d like to make a claim now that it will regularly be sold out. Hopefully I’ll be at every home game too! Can’t wait for ‘22 season to begin