By Jose Trujillo (@jAy_Ay_T):
How do you replace greatness?
You don’t.
This is a lesson San Jose State University sophomore point guard Taylor Turney will have to remember throughout this upcoming season.
The departure of Dezz Ramos has opened the door for Turney, who is expected to take over as the starting point guard this year. She will run the offense and the Spartans will need the sophomore to step up and provide leadership in what is the most important position on the court.
“You have the ball in your hands most of the time,” Turney said. “You have to make the right passes and if you don’t win or something bad happens. It’s usually on you… you’re the main person on the court that is like a coach,”.
In her first season in the program, Turney played most of her minutes in a reserve role as the backup point guard. Even in a limited role, the sophomore flashed glimpses of her playmaking ability.
“One of her biggest strengths is her drive to the basket,” said junior forward Andrea Kohlhaas. “She can create great one on one situations. She can attack the basketball, but if she has an open shot, she does not hesitate to take that.”
Turney plays fast and pushes the ball up court qualities which San Jose State women’s basketball head coach Jamie Craighead admires.
“I really love her up tempo game. She pushes in transition really well,” Craighead said. “I think she has a great scoring ability as a point guard. I also like her intensity and competitiveness,”
Turney will have to use every skill she possesses. She is not only taking over for last year’s starter, but she is replacing Dezz Ramos. Ramos is the fastest player in the program’s history to reach 1,000 points and arguably the best women’s point guard to ever don a San Jose State Spartans uniform.
“No one expects her to be Dezz Ramos,” Craighead said. “I expect her to be Taylor, and they’re two different players. I just need her to be a floor general, play defense, do what she can do offensively, and I am excited about that prospect.”
Those who watched the team play last year know what Ramos brought to the floor — scoring, experience and tenacity. She averaged over 23 points per games and provided strong leadership alongside a fearless mentality.
But for Turney, it’s not about trying to replace Ramos.
“I don’t really feel pressure because we are two different players, we bring two different things to the table,” Turney said. “I am confident in what I can do.”
What is more important to her is exemplifying the floor general qualities she learned from the seventh ranked scorer in school history.
“She [Ramos] taught me a lot last year. She taught me how not to be as well,” Turney said. “She had a winning demeanor about her that I liked., If at halftime we weren’t doing well, she got us right by saying what we needed to work on.”
That role will now be filled by Turney, and Craighead expects her to do it her way.
“I do not know that there is one player who can replace Ramos,” Craighead said. “There is no pressure on Taylor to average 26 a game. The pressure is for her [Turney] to be her and to do what she can do well.”
And what Turney excels at is playing a pure point guard role compared to Ramos, who was more of a two-guard playing the point.
“I bring a point guard mentality. I push the ball, I have good handles,” Turney said. “I get people open and make the right passes.”
Craighead emphasizes pushing the ball on every possession and Turney’s game fits right into the up-tempo system.
“Taylor has the ability to do things that maybe even Dezz [Ramos] couldn’t do,” Craighead said. “She [Turney] is more of a true point guard.”
Even so, her ability to be a prototypical point guard does not mask her youth and inexperience and Turney knows that. Yet she is humble. She understands many athletes dream of having the opportunity she has.
“I’m humbled by the opportunity to start,” Turney said. “ It’s a dream to be a college Division I athlete, and then it’s another dream to start, especially as a sophomore., I’m young, so I’m ready to grow.”