The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481002
34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER uietly. That's how Jakia Brown-Turner prefers to lead. "Coach [Wes] Moore a lways says I n e e d to show more excitement, m o re e m o t i o n s, s h ow that I care," said the se- nior wing player from Oxon Hill, Md. "I definitely care, but I don't always show the emotion and passion that I have for the game. "That's what I have to do this year." M ayb e , h oweve r, B row n -Tu r n e r never had the opportunity to get a word in edgewise while playing with the su- per-veterans in the NC State women's basketball lineup the past three sea- sons, in which Moore and his program won back-to-back-to-back Atlantic Coast Conference championships. Brown-Turner didn't mind letting veterans Kayla Jones, Elissa Cunane, Kai Crutchfield and Raina Perez do all the talking and leading on a team that spent the entire season ranked in the top five and reached as high as No. 2 in the nation. A famously clutch con- tributor, she did plenty without shout- ing to the world about her accomplish- ments. However, this year's Pack has to put last year's 32-4 season, an Elite Eight appearance (its fourth consecutive NCAA trip) and the memory of its de- parted senior class behind it. The lone returning starter in a three- senior class that also includes post player Camille Hobby and guard Jada Boyd, Brown-Turner will now take over the task of leading a team that won both the ACC regular-season and tournament titles last year. "I definitely see myself as a leader, being a senior and a starter now for four years," she said. "My job is to en- courage my teammates and make sure we all have good energy and stay posi- tive throughout the whole year. "That's one of the most important things I learned from my teammates last year: Don't get down on myself." Mainly because negative energy is contagious, Brown-Turner said. "My teammates are going to feed off my energy," she explained. "We can't get too low or too high. My job is to keep the team balanced, keep us going and keep us positive." Leading By Example Moore has faith that Brown-Turner can do that, but he worries about the chemistry of a team that brought in three players from the NCAA transfer portal. "We had four seniors walk out the door," said the coach. "Two of them had been with us for five years, one had been here for four and another had played college basketball for five years. It was a whole lot of experience to lose. "They had a lot of chemistry." Brown-Turner's greatest leadership asset, however, is that she is going into her fourth year in the program. She also has off-court experience as one of the most engaged participants in the student-athlete-led Pack United ini- tiative, in which athletes from multiple sports speak out against racism and police brutality while promoting racial unity. "In this new era of the portal, you have got to have leadership that has been in your program, knows what your system is about and what your culture is about," Moore said. "We're counting on Jakia being one of those people. "She is not normally a vocal leader. We definitely need her to be a leader by example and maybe learn to speak up a little bit more." Moore doesn't expect a lot of change from a player who will likely be a cen- terpiece as the Wolfpack goes after its fourth consecutive ACC title. He just wants her to be the player she's been so far in her career. "Jakia is passionate about the game, and she works extremely hard," Moore said. "This year, we're not really asking her to do anything she hasn't already done for us for her first three years. She's been a starter since Day 1. "We just need her to be Jakia, which is something pretty special." A Clutch Performer Being a strong example is not a dif- ficult task for Brown-Turner. Clutch performances have been her trademark since she first arrived at NC State, a five-star recruit who was named the 2018-19 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year. She's no stranger to big perfor- mances in big games. As a freshman, she had her first career double-double in the ACC championship game, and her 2 free throws in the final minute sealed the victory over Florida State that gave the Wolfpack its first ACC title since 1991. As a sophomore, she had 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Pack's win over top-ranked South Carolina. Last year, Brown-Turner was often a catalyst in bringing Moore's team back from early deficits. At Duke, she was the reason the Wolfpack pulled away from the Blue Devils in a 31-point fourth quarter, finishing with a career- high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. She hit the last of the 3 consecutive 3-pointers the Pack used to finish on a 17-5 run, in a quarter in which the team missed just 1 shot. He r t h i rd - q u a r te r b u rs t a ga i n s t Florida State in the ACC quarterfinals, when she scored 9 of her 15 points, helped the Wolfpack cruise into the championship game for the third year in a row. Last season, Brown-Turner finished third on the team in scoring and rebounding, with averages of 9.8 points and 4.6 boards per game. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS Q Voice Activated NC State Is Looking For Star Senior Jakia Brown-Turner To Make Some Noise This Season — On And Off The Court