Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Heart and Soule
January 17, 2020 | Women's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
Taylor Soule's recent run is echoing legends of years past.
There's a big difference in basketball between a great player and a player who plays great. The great ones have all of the natural ability in the world, but a player playing great is the one who can harness every inch of athletic talent within a team game. The true legends understand that, and they built their reputation by committing, game after game, to doing the little things to make themselves and their team better.
Taylor Soule didn't necessarily understand that last season. She was a freshman rookie playing her first year in college basketball, and adjusting to the next level of the game broke down where she stood. She had talent capable of putting up scoring numbers, but she needed to develop how to play great basketball.
"You really have to bring everything (to every day)," Soule said. "When your coach tells that there are no plays off, they're not kidding. (Basketball isn't) even physical; it's mental. You have to hold yourself and your teammates accountable. It's only 40 minutes, but it can feel like a long time even if it goes by quickly. Every possession matters. So to play college basketball, in particular in the ACC, it requires a lot of energy and effort."
It's transformed her into a basketball player capable of playing with greatness. On offense, she is shooting well over 50 percent as an inside threat in the front court and averaged over 12 points per game with 10 games in double figures. On defense, she's tenacious with a showcase of skills to block shots or generate turnovers. On the window, she averages over seven rebounds per game, and the Louisville game broke a string of five straight, 10-plus rebound performances.
It's given BC a complete asset on the floor, a power forward who can run like a guard and protect the basket like a center.
"T-Soule plays hard and plays with her heart," head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. "She's emotional. She's the kind of player who always goes hard, regardless of if she's having a good day or a bad day. I love the way she's crashing the board. She's taking ownership of the things she can perfect."
"I think a light bulb just clicked," Soule said. "I talked to all of my coaches on the staff (in the offseason), and they tried to drill into my head that I needed to rebound, along with some other things. After a while, they could only tell me so many times (to work on skills). So over the summer, those bulbs clicked about how to win games if we're winning (areas outside of scoring). It doesn't mean it's going to happen, but if I can help my team by getting rebounds or stops on defense, then that's what I have to do."
It's elevating Soule, a local product out of New Hampshire, into a stratosphere occupied by select company. Those five straight games with double figure rebounds made her the first Eagle to accomplish the feat since Carolyn Swords during the 2010-2011 season, creating an interesting cross-section.
That year was Swords' senior season and wrapped an All-ACC career for one of BC's most prolific players. During that ultimate season, she set a program record with 16 boards against St. Joe's in the WNIT. Soule, only a sophomore, set a personal high with 16 rebounds vs. Delaware State.
"Rebounding is reacting," Soule said. "That's the biggest thing. You have to know how to react, especially in ACC play, because everything happens so quickly. Ever since I was little and even in college, rebounding doesn't take skill. It doesn't matter if you're five feet, two inches against someone five feet, ten inches, its heart and hustle. If we can do our job to get boards, you could just be doing your job to block out to let someone else get the ball.
"It creates a swag to your team," she laughed, "because you're doing your part."
For the Eagles, Soule's emergency provides a new centerpiece in the forward block position, and it's a unique wrinkle against opponents. The Boston College system enables the front court players to receive passes inside before kicking out for driving guards, and it keeps defenses guessing by enabling multiple options. There's tons of communication, especially on rebounds, to ensure players are taken out of the play for others to grab rebounds.
For Soule, it took the No. 5 team in the nation, which went to the Final Four last season, to break the streak, and even then, it still came within two boards of continuing.
"We have to control what we can control," Soule said. "When a team doesn't shoot well, you have to make up for it by doing something else. So if you can bring energy and get stops on defense, you can limit touches by other players. That's where it shows in winning a game. You have to do what it takes to stop the other team."
BC kicks off a three-game road swing on Sunday when it heads to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and can be seen via the ACC Network Extra on the WatchESPN.com streaming video platform.
Taylor Soule didn't necessarily understand that last season. She was a freshman rookie playing her first year in college basketball, and adjusting to the next level of the game broke down where she stood. She had talent capable of putting up scoring numbers, but she needed to develop how to play great basketball.
"You really have to bring everything (to every day)," Soule said. "When your coach tells that there are no plays off, they're not kidding. (Basketball isn't) even physical; it's mental. You have to hold yourself and your teammates accountable. It's only 40 minutes, but it can feel like a long time even if it goes by quickly. Every possession matters. So to play college basketball, in particular in the ACC, it requires a lot of energy and effort."
It's transformed her into a basketball player capable of playing with greatness. On offense, she is shooting well over 50 percent as an inside threat in the front court and averaged over 12 points per game with 10 games in double figures. On defense, she's tenacious with a showcase of skills to block shots or generate turnovers. On the window, she averages over seven rebounds per game, and the Louisville game broke a string of five straight, 10-plus rebound performances.
It's given BC a complete asset on the floor, a power forward who can run like a guard and protect the basket like a center.
"T-Soule plays hard and plays with her heart," head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. "She's emotional. She's the kind of player who always goes hard, regardless of if she's having a good day or a bad day. I love the way she's crashing the board. She's taking ownership of the things she can perfect."
"I think a light bulb just clicked," Soule said. "I talked to all of my coaches on the staff (in the offseason), and they tried to drill into my head that I needed to rebound, along with some other things. After a while, they could only tell me so many times (to work on skills). So over the summer, those bulbs clicked about how to win games if we're winning (areas outside of scoring). It doesn't mean it's going to happen, but if I can help my team by getting rebounds or stops on defense, then that's what I have to do."
It's elevating Soule, a local product out of New Hampshire, into a stratosphere occupied by select company. Those five straight games with double figure rebounds made her the first Eagle to accomplish the feat since Carolyn Swords during the 2010-2011 season, creating an interesting cross-section.
That year was Swords' senior season and wrapped an All-ACC career for one of BC's most prolific players. During that ultimate season, she set a program record with 16 boards against St. Joe's in the WNIT. Soule, only a sophomore, set a personal high with 16 rebounds vs. Delaware State.
"Rebounding is reacting," Soule said. "That's the biggest thing. You have to know how to react, especially in ACC play, because everything happens so quickly. Ever since I was little and even in college, rebounding doesn't take skill. It doesn't matter if you're five feet, two inches against someone five feet, ten inches, its heart and hustle. If we can do our job to get boards, you could just be doing your job to block out to let someone else get the ball.
"It creates a swag to your team," she laughed, "because you're doing your part."
For the Eagles, Soule's emergency provides a new centerpiece in the forward block position, and it's a unique wrinkle against opponents. The Boston College system enables the front court players to receive passes inside before kicking out for driving guards, and it keeps defenses guessing by enabling multiple options. There's tons of communication, especially on rebounds, to ensure players are taken out of the play for others to grab rebounds.
For Soule, it took the No. 5 team in the nation, which went to the Final Four last season, to break the streak, and even then, it still came within two boards of continuing.
"We have to control what we can control," Soule said. "When a team doesn't shoot well, you have to make up for it by doing something else. So if you can bring energy and get stops on defense, you can limit touches by other players. That's where it shows in winning a game. You have to do what it takes to stop the other team."
BC kicks off a three-game road swing on Sunday when it heads to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and can be seen via the ACC Network Extra on the WatchESPN.com streaming video platform.
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