Last season, NC State women’s basketball boasted what was perhaps the greatest senior class in program history. Elissa Cunane, Kai Crutchfield, Kayla Jones and Raina Perez all played a part in the Wolfpack’s ACC three-peat and helped carve out a deep run in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, as all of the aforementioned players finished their NC State careers at the end of the 2021-22 season.
With the likes of Cunane and company moving on, there have been looming questions and concerns about the void left behind by the departures. Veteran leadership, experience and playmaking ability seem to be lacking, leaving everyone wondering: how will NC State live up to its championship-level expectations with such important players gone?
So far, however, it seems like those questions have been answered. Senior wing Jakia Brown-Turner and junior guard Diamond Johnson look to step up and are primed to lead the Wolfpack on and off the court in the 2022-23 season.
“We had some holes to fill,” said head coach Wes Moore. “We added some really good players. Now, you gotta become a team. These players are gonna have to step up and take on roles that they haven’t had in the past, as far as leadership. I want them to be like assistant coaches on the court.”
Brown-Turner and Johnson are set to lead in a big way this season and won’t just be filling the absences left on the stat sheet from big-time players such as Cunane, Jones and Crutchfield. With their championship experience, hunger to win and desire to make anyone and everyone around them better, these two are poised to step into their leadership role for the women’s basketball team.
Brown-Turner, who was a member of the 2021-22 All-ACC Tournament Second Team, is the only returning starter for Pack ahead of the 2022-23 season, making her an obvious candidate for the go-to player in the locker room. She’s also set to play a major role on the court this season, especially after scoring a season-high 20 points in NC State’s Elite Eight game against UConn.
With her depth of experiences in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments, she’s been quick to step into a leadership role in the offseason.
“With that experience I have, I feel like I am a leader of this team and I need to be that leader,” Brown-Turner said. “Because I’ve been here for a while, I feel like I’ve had a lot of experience, especially winning championships. So I’ve been able to bring that to my team and bring that experience and be able to encourage them and stay positive with them.”
Meanwhile, Johnson, the reigning ACC Sixth Player of the Year, feels a responsibility to step into the role and knows she can do it after finding her place on the team last season.
“I became way more comfortable last year,” Johnson said. “I was feeling things out and still playing my role. This year, I know I can’t be the same as I was last year. I can’t be super laid-back or anything.”
This season, Johnson is expected to become a full-time starter for NC State and will no doubt provide the same scoring prowess as she did last year, as well as an added level of leadership in the locker room.
“We’ve heard people say, ‘She gives you a spark,’” Moore said. “I said, ‘She gives us a bonfire.’ Now she’s gonna have to do that from the tip.”
With both players ready to take the next step up in all facets of the game, both are set to do more than just filling the void left behind, but excel in their roles.
For Johnson, leadership means building a repertoire with her teammates during practices, even if that means a little trash talk is included.
“I’m more of a competitive leader; I might talk trash with you, and then I’ll pull you to the side and tell you what to do,” Johnson said. “I think for [my teammates] respecting me and being the player I am, it makes it easier for me to talk to them and lead them more.”
For Brown-Turner, leadership is making sure the Wolfpack plays as one coherent and united team. With a depth of new talent being added to the squad via the transfer portal, Brown-Turner’s determined mindset is more important than ever to help guide the red-and-white back to the promised land.
“Our motto is still the same,” Brown-Turner said. “Just be together and stay together and play as a team. So that’s what this is all about; we’re not going to be a selfish team. We’re going to do this together and when you move the ball and play defense hard and do all the little things, it’s going to come together as one.”
Like the senior said, it’ll only be done together, and with players like Brown-Turner and Johnson ready to steer the ship ahead of the incoming season, NC State will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC and beyond.
