How Taylen Collins blossomed into a do-it-all player for Oklahoma State women's basketball
STILLWATER — Heading into the home stretch of her first season as the Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach, Jacie Hoyt is still figuring out the best ways to use Taylen Collins.
The 6-foot-1 junior forward is a different style of player than Hoyt had ever coached before.
Long and athletic, Collins is a defensive force. Tall enough to guard post players, agile enough to defend on the perimeter.
The Muldrow native — and daughter of former Cowboy defensive wiz Terry Collins — wasn’t recruited by Hoyt, like the vast majority of the OSU roster. Collins was a holdover from the Jim Littell era. But she’s been a perfect fit in Hoyt’s scheme.
“She’s such a fun player to coach,” Hoyt said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a more athletic player than what Taylen is. It’s been fun for me, challenging for me, just figuring out how to best position her to be successful.”
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Collins has been particularly strong on the boards lately, with at least eight rebounds in six of the last seven games as the Cowgirls (14-7, 4-5 Big 12) prep for a visit from Texas Tech (15-6, 3-5) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Fifty-one of Collins’ 188 rebounds this season have come on the offensive end, which is highly valuable for a team that relies on the 3-point shot as much as the Cowgirls.
Collins isn’t going to step out and fire from deep, but she has a knack for boards and putbacks.
“She scores off of her athleticism,” Hoyt said. “She scores off of putbacks, defense turning into offense. It’s just about helping her understand where she’s at her best, because it does look a little bit different for her.
“But she’s been great for us, and really just an anchor for us defensively.”
Collins was recruited by Littell to be an impact player on a defense-first team. But she has melded perfectly to Hoyt’s up-tempo style.
A couple weeks ago, Collins put all of her skills on display in one brief exchange during a win over TCU. Playing as a help defender in the paint, she moved in and blocked the shot of a TCU guard who had beaten the primary defender.
OSU point guard Naomie Alnatas gathered the loose ball and turned toward the other end of the floor where Collins was already sprinting toward the basket. Alantas unleashed an overhand pass that hit Collins in stride. She dribbled once and laid it in for an easy bucket.
“When she’s doing things like that, we’re a really good basketball team,” Hoyt said.
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Alnatas, who followed Hoyt to OSU from Missouri-Kansas City, has been thrilled to have an interior player with Collins’ athletic gifts.
“She’s tough,” Alnatas said. “To me, Taylen is one of the toughest players in the Big 12 to play against. She doesn’t just do one thing. She’s not just a rebounder. She’s not just a jumper. She’s not just a shot-blocker.
“You know you’ll always get her best every single day. And she’s super-athletic, so for me, who likes to pass the ball, it’s super-fun to play with her. I can just throw it up to her and she’ll get it.”
Collins doesn’t always shoot a lot, but when she does, she’s efficient, hitting 61.7% of her field-goal tries in Big 12 play. Yet it’s still her defense and rebounding that helps the Cowgirls most.
“I just wanna do whatever it takes to help my team, however that looks,” Collins said. “Whether that’s grabbing rebounds, finding the open person … it’s really just about doing whatever it takes to win and let everybody be successful.”
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OSU vs. Texas Tech
TIPOFF: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater (ESPN+)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Taylen Collins now a do-it-all player for Oklahoma State basketball
