Pursuing her Destanee

Robbinsville – Take one look at Desta Trammell and it would be easy to dismiss her talent.

Basketball is in her blood, but the Robbinsville Lady Knights’ 5-foot-2 sophomore point guard is hardly someone to look past when scanning the roster. With 693 career points already to her credit, Destanee (known affectionally as simply “Desta”) is on the fast track to attaining her goal of playing college basketball.

She is not afraid to shoot from outside or drive to the basket. Her speedy defense gives opponents fits, as it is not uncommon for Trammell to score a transition bucket before the other bench has a chance to blink. 

You would not be mistaken if you saw her name pop up on the boards, as she even pulled down eight rebounds in the conference title game at Murphy last month.

Though the term “toddler” was even thrown around by sore members of the opposition earlier this season, Trammell has smarts much bigger than her height and she is making a name for herself, as she was named the Big Smoky Mountain Conference Girls Player of the Year.

“I took it kind of funny. A ‘toddler?’ It definitely motivated me,” Trammell said with a laugh. “I love it when people are like that because it does light a fire under me. It makes me want to show that I can rebound, even though I’m 5-2. Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I can’t play with everybody else.

“There’s a lot of great players in this conference, and I knew it was going to be close (the voting), but I was so happy when I found out. It feels really good to know that all the work I’ve put in is paying off.”

“Desta being voted Player of the Year was a fitting ending for her sophomore season,” said Lady Knights head coach Lucas Ford, who was also named conference Coach of the Year. “This was kind of a breakout year for her. It’s nice when you see a kid that puts in the time and effort get rewarded for it. The award was very well deserved.”

Off on the right foot

Trammell recalls technique being instilled at an early age, largely because her sister Tacey was playing for the Robbinsville Lady Knights. It did not take long to get Desta hooked.

“Ever since I can remember, I was in the gym with my sister, rebounding for her and shooting,” Trammell said. “I was two-ball dribbling when I learned how to walk. She was teaching me everything. I was up at 6 a.m. every day in the summertime. 

“I enjoy it (basketball) so much; I enjoy watching it. Any chance I can, I love to play. I feel like basketball is a part of me. It’s a huge part of my personality and a huge factor in what I feel like defines me.”

“We’ve known watching Desta since she was little that she was going to be special,” Ford said. “Coach Knott used to call her ‘The Future’ when she was younger.

“Desta wants to play college basketball, and one area I felt like she was going to have to improve on was leadership and overcoming adversity. Through the year, it was very satisfying for me to watch that play out with her. I told her that colleges are not going to observe how she’s doing when the team is playing their best as much as they are going to see what you do when your team is struggling.”

Trammell now has the chance to become a role model for future players. 

Anyone that attends a Robbinsville basketball event will often see a young, red-headed girl running out with the team, shooting around before and after games and beaming from ear to ear while doing it. Bella is coach Ford’s daughter and has already grown attached to Trammell.

“We’ve got pictures that we show Bella; Desta used to lead Tacey’s team out on the floor. They’re the only two girls I’ve ever seen do it,” Ford said. “It’s kind of cool to show Bella where it started for Desta. Bella loves to watch Desta play, and I’ll see Bella at the goal outside our house trying to mimic Desta’s moves.

“I sit back and think how blessed I am to be in a program with girls like Desta. You can always tell the true character of a teenager by how they act and how they treat younger kids. My daughter wants to be No. 4 (Desta’s jersey number) when she plays.”

No rest for the weary

“Student-athlete” is a term often used to prioritize a player’s view on sports, as it not only provides a reality check, but means the daily routine is often hectic from start to finish. Trammell has found an effective way to juggle both worlds, while still strengthening her game.

“My main days (at school) are Mondays and Thursdays, but if I need help with my first and fourth block – because those classes tend to have more work – I’ll come in on off-days and attend, so I can stay caught up,” Trammell said. “On game days, I’ll wake up, get all my schoolwork done before lunch, go get something to eat, then come in and shoot. You can make it happen, but it’s obviously very frantic. 

“Anybody can get in the gym and shoot extra, but if you’re not working on your moves, shooting foul shots when you’re tired, none of the extra shooting is going to matter. You’re not going to go to the foul line in the middle of the game and be fresh. So I find myself being very, very busy. All the girls are.”

The Lady Knights season ended just three weeks ago, but that does not mean Trammell even thought about pumping the brakes. Just last weekend, she made a four-hour trek to Greensboro for tryouts with her travel team, FBC Carolina Elite. 

“My old travel team was in Asheville, so now I’m going even further, but that’s ok,” Trammell said. “I’ve played pretty much everywhere in North Carolina (for travel basketball). I started with the Lady Royals when I was in second grade, and I played for them until this year, when I switched to FBC Carolina Elite.”

Minor setback

Even at a young age, the body can find itself with too much wear and tear. Years of year-round basketball finally caught up with Trammell last season, as she began to have a nagging pain in her right shin.

“I had never really been hurt and had to sit out of basketball,” Trammell said. “My sister thought it was shin splints, but then it got to wear at nighttime, the pain was getting intense. We went to the doctor and they thought it was my muscle at first, so I kept playing on it. My dad wanted to go to another doctor to make sure and that one said my right tibia had a stress fracture.”

Now in an unfamiliar position – on the bench – Trammell had to adapt to the situation. She returned in time for the postseason, and Robbinsville advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.

“It was hard, because I wanted to just take medicine and play with the pain,” Trammell said. “But then they told me if I was to land on that bone the wrong way, it could compound-fracture. That would have been it.

“I wanted to play. It was hard; I had never had to sit out before.”

Tightly knit group

No one could hold a candle to the Lady Knights as they made their way up through the ranks. For six years, the Robbinsville Termite, Mite and Midget teams that included Trammell were unbeaten.

“The bond every year has just gotten closer, especially with the grades above me,” Trammell said. “We’ve grown up learning what each other is good at, where our favorite shots are; us growing up together has really helped.”

With Trammell manning the proverbial “quarterback” position on the floor, Robbinsville won the division for the first time since the 2011-12 docket (with an 11-1 conference record) and advanced to the Elite 8 of the 1A state playoffs, finishing the year 15-2.

“Everybody wanted to be here and we knew we could be good,” Trammell said. “There is such a huge difference with this year; the season was shorter and nobody wanted to take that for granted.”

Trammell and junior Yeika Jimenez were named to the All-Conference list, while junior Halee Anderson, senior Gabby Hooper and sophomore Kensley Phillips each received an honorable mention. 

To put that into context, every member of Robbinsville’s starting five were recognized for their contributions this year.

“We hate to lose the seniors we’ve got, but we’re very excited about the players we’ve got coming back,” Ford said. “We’ve already had kids working their butts off in the gym. I look forward to seeing the end result of the work put in; I have no doubt that we’ll come in next year as one of the favorites in the conference, the region and the state.”

The N.C. Basketball Coaches Association also released its All-District Team on Friday, with Trammell being named to the 2nd Team for District 12.