advertisement

Stevenson's Buford to revisit Hoosier roots at Butler

Taylor Buford didn't approach “legend” status when she played basketball while growing up in Indiana, but one of her former coaches sure did.

Damon Bailey is a name synonymous with Indiana high school basketball. He graduated from Bedford North Lawrence as the state's all-time leading scorer and played four seasons under Bob Knight at IU, where he earned All-America honors. After his playing days, which included one year with his hometown Indiana Pacers, Bailey once coached Buford as an assistant coach in AAU ball.

“I'm really excited to play under Damon again,” Buford said.

Next year, Buford's homecoming will include returning to her old state to play college basketball and learn again from Bailey, who's a first-year assistant under head coach Kurt Godlevske at Butler University. Buford will become the latest Division I girls basketball from Stevenson, after verbally committing to the Bulldogs, who play in the Big East.

A 5-foot-10 forward who figures to play wing or two guard in college, she just began her fourth varsity season for the Patriots.

“(Committing to Butler) is a big relief off my shoulders,” said Buford, who received a full ride. “I really wanted to commit before the (high school) season started.”

“(Butler) is a very good fit for her,” said Tom Dineen, who's also coached Kari Moffat (Lehigh), Alex Elzinga (Army), Michelle O'Brien (Western Michigan), Anna Morrissey (Michigan State) and Kelsey Simon (Miami) at Stevenson. “I'm very happy for her and her family. She's a wonderful young lady, and this is something that she's wanted to do.”

The only child of Terry and Pam, Buford narrowed her choices down to Butler and UIC. Howard University also offered her.

“I started talking with my family and I just really got a good vibe with Butler,” Buford said. “I chose Butler because I really love the academic reputation it has. It's really strong in the major that I want, which is public relations of business.”

Buford was 1 when her family moved from Michigan to Indiana. The Bufords moved from the northern Indianapolis suburb of Carmel to Long Grove at the end of Taylor's eighth-grade year.

Terry Buford is a former Northwestern basketball player. His side of the family comes from Indianapolis, said Taylor, who still has lots of aunts, uncles, cousins and even grandparents there.

She took an official visit to Butler in early October, after visiting UIC about a month earlier.

“This is probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever made,” she said. “I went back and forth for a while.”

As a freshman, Buford was a spot starter on Stevenson's varsity. She moved into the starting lineup on a regular basis as a sophomore, and last season she took on more of a leadership role while also developing into one of the Patriots' statistical leaders in multiple categories. She averaged team bests of 13.7 points and 8 rebounds per game.

She's a team co-captain for the second year in a row along with fellow four-year varsity player Sophia Way.

“Each year, she's gotten better and better, and each year her role has changed,” Dineen said. “The coaching staff and I have tried to help her along in the recruiting process as well as in some of the areas that we thought she needed to improve on, not only to play at our level but also the next level.”

Buford played AAU ball for Mac Irvin Fire this past summer, and her game grew. She worked on her outside game, particularly from beyond the arc, and ballhandling.

“Playing for Mac Irvin Fire this summer really opened up opportunities for me,” Buford said. “I had a great time. I really improved from that.”

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.