For Kentlake High graduate Deepeka Taya, the opportunity to play basketball for Green River College has extra meaning since she gets to follow her sister’s footsteps.
Puja Taya played for the Gators from 2012 to 2014.
“It seemed like she (Puja) had an amazing time here,” said Deepeka Taya, a freshman at Green River. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep playing. I came to open gyms with my sister and it was really nice. It was more fast-paced.”
Taya, 19, said she comes from an athletic family. Her father, Babu, was a wrestler, and mother, Seema, a runner, while Taya, her sister and younger brother took up basketball.
“We basically kind of tried everything and basketball stuck because it wasn’t a lot of running but if you were running you were dribbling,” the 5-foot-5 shooting guard said. “We were just naturally good at it — all of us.”
Taya started playing basketball in fourth grade, but didn’t become serious about the sport until sixth grade.
“My P.E. teacher was like, ‘You are getting good,’ ” Taya said. “I was practicing my dribbling because we had a basketball court right in front of us at our apartments. Seventh grade came and I was like, ‘Maybe I should try out.’ “
After playing at Cedar Heights Middle School, Taya made the varsity team at Kentlake where her sister also played.
“It was kind of cool and fascinating that I was able to play with my sister because she was a senior,” Taya said. “We shared that bond on the court.”
Taya said she is excited for her sister to be able to watch her games at Green River. Puja Taya is studying physical therapy at the University of Washington. Deepeka Taya said she plans to transfer to UW to become a physician assistant after finishing her two years at Green River.
Bob Kickner, who is in his second year as head coach at Green River, said although he didn’t coach Puja Taya, he knew her from his role as the college’s athletic director.
“She is a real supporter of the program obviously a real supporter of her sister,” Kickner said. “When the opportunity presented itself to recruit Depeeka, we loved what Puja became in basketball and I would love for Deepeka to do the same thing over two years.”
Kickner described Deepeka as a “one of our zone-busting 3-point shooters.”
“She is a 3-point expert,” he said. “She has a great 3 and a good range. … She is going to provide us with an opportunity to open up the defense which will then allow our post players to do a little more work too.”
Taya, who holds 3-pointer and free-throw records at Kentlake, said she would like to set a record at Green River as well.
“I am hoping I could at least put my name on the Green River block and break the 3-point record here and carry the name,” she said.
Kickner said it is nice to have a local player like Taya on the team. She is only one of two players from Washington state.
“We would love to have a lot of local players,” Kickner said. “Kentlake has been a really solid program for the last several years and there’s others as well in the SPSL. We think we can be a really good destination for players in the area.”
The team is made up of 10 freshman and one sophomore.
“We are young but we are spirited,” Kickner said. “We’re athletic. I think we are going to be a fun team to watch. I think we are going in the right direction.”
Green River kicks off its season with two home games this weekend. The Gators host Mount Hood on Friday, Nov. 20, at 5:30 p.m., and take on Portland on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m.
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