Does anyone work harder than Dejah Terrell?

Dejah Terrell is about to move to Turkey to play for Turgutlu, the latest turn in her unique career path.

A late bloomer, Terrell didn’t pick up a basketball until 7th grade. She went from a Division III school, where she broke six records in two years, to a Division II school, where she suffered a serious injury but came back. She’s smart, energetic and confident in her abilities. Add to that her work ethic and sky’s the limit for the 6-foot-1 forward who will soon leave Pennsylvania and embark on, hopefully, a long and successful pro career.

How did your move to Turkey come about? Why did you decide on your particular team?

Well, honestly, when I first started to learn about overseas, I always was told that Turkey was a great place to go. It’s really good for women players. So I always had in the back of my mind, like, “Okay, Turkey sounds like a cool idea.” Then I started looking for agents. I honestly e-mailed every agent possible and once my agent got back to me, he told me what I wanted to hear and he honestly just did all the work for me, sent my film out and let people know who I was.

And they decided that you would be the perfect player for them, right? Because you come from a Division II school. How much of a drawback is it when looking for a job?

Yeah. I didn’t know it would be such a drawback, but it definitely is being from Division II or III. I noticed that overseas teams tend to not look past Division I. The top teams normally have the best players out of America and they typically come from Division I. So it makes sense.

And this will be your first time actually moving from Pennsylvania.

Honestly, I think it’s going to be a huge step and it doesn’t have really anything to do with the location. I can leave PA behind because I know I can always come back, but leaving my family—they’re mostly in Reading, PA—I think that’s going to be one of the hardest things to do for me. But I’ll have God in my hands and I’ll be just fine.

Do you already have a plan about what you’re going to do once you arrive in Turkey?

My dad will be with me, so once he’s there, we’re going to just travel a little bit while we’re there, get adjusted and see what little things I can bring back to my apartment to make me feel as close at home as possible.

You’re close with your dad. What about your mom? Who was more influential in your career so far?

My mom didn’t really know much about basketball. She’s starting to learn more and more every day, but my dad is the real reason why I started playing. He just wanted me to do something more positive than what I was doing at the time. And the first time I picked up a ball, I actually fell in love with it. I picked the ball up pretty late. I started taking basketball serious in 8th grade. I had a late start, but as soon as I began playing, everybody told me that I was going to be a star one day. I didn’t really pay any mind to it because I didn’t see it at the time, but they weren’t telling me that off of skill, they were telling me that because they’ve seen the hard work. That’s kind of how I started.

Was the hard work just something that came naturally and you’re a hard worker in every aspect of your life?

Yeah, I think I’m just a hard worker in every aspect of my life, and I don’t like to lose. I don’t like to be second, third. I want to be the best I can be. And I knew that me starting in 7th grade I was going to have to really, really work hard to even get my name out there and be noticed as a player.

And then you go to high school at Berks Catholic, right? And did you join the basketball team immediately? And how was the process?

It was awesome. The team was very welcoming. I did transfer from a public school district, which was Reading High School at the time, and then I transferred over to Berks Catholic private school. And it was a big adjustment for a city girl out of a public school to go to a more suburban area with the private school kids. It was a big adjustment for me, but I didn’t let it sway my decision of wanting to go hard into sports. So I just kept my head low and did what I had to do. I ended up winning their first county championship in history. Then I did it again the second year and I scored 1,000 points there. So I just did what I had to do and made it work.

And eventually you get a sports scholarship at Albright College?

No, they don’t have full scholarships for Division III; you can get them in Division II and Division II. But when I went to Division III, they worked out a lot of things for me. They gave me grants and stuff like that.

And Albright College is a liberal arts college. What did you major in?

I was a business major when I was at Albright. When I moved to California University of Pennsylvania, I switched it to sports management. I chose sports management when I knew why I wanted to do something in sports. I want to be a coach eventually, things like that. But the business aspect was still a part of sports management, so I felt like it would be easier for me to transfer my credits.

You played two years at Albright College. You were awesome, plain and simple. Your stats were through the roof. And then you transfer. Why?

I think I had three reasons. The first of my reasons was that I was too big of a fish in such a small pond. I know I needed to be somewhere bigger to grow. The second reason was I knew I was bigger than Reading, PA, and I needed to just get away from home, and experience life without my family right down the street. Because Albright is literally a five minute drive from my house. So I needed to do that, and the third reason was I knew I didn’t belong to Division III. I broke six records in one year and I just knew there was so much more challenges for me to come. And in order for me to meet those challenges, I had to transfer.

As a redshirt, you had to sit out a year. How did you handle that year?

Well, it was COVID year and we couldn’t do much, but my coach was an awesome coach and she figured it out. So we would all jump on Zoom, we would be in our rooms and we would all be working out, doing push ups together, things like that. My coach actually gave us basketball drills to do at home and we would have to send her videos every single day. So shout out to Coach Strom. She definitely is the reason why we stayed active in in the sport, honestly.

And how did your parents handle you doing basketball drills inside the house?

My mom would just tell me to take it to the basement. If it came to dribbling, go outside. So things like that, I would just take it outside if I felt like I was being too loud. But my mom and my stepdad, those the parents that I live with, they always knew that my love for the game was really, really deep. So they don’t really bother me too much when it comes to me putting in the work that I need to put in.

I just want to take a step back. In Division III, your freshman year is okay, but then the sophomore season you break all the records. What happened during that summer?

Well, my first year going to Albright, I wasn’t adjusted. I was very new. I missed half of the season. I went halfway through the school year, so the girls didn’t know me. And honestly, I felt like I was just thrown to the wolves my first year and I survived. I did, but I know it wasn’t my dominant year and that summer it humbled me. A lot. So what I did was I put even more work in and I told myself I’m bigger and better than what I was doing, so I had to put the work in and I trained every single day, no days off and the results paid off the next year. Six records broken.

After the COVID year you return, no longer a redshirt, and your stats are basically on the same level as they were in Division III. So that leap wasn’t that scary.

I honestly feel as though I’m a Division I athlete, but when I went to Division III, it made me change my perspective of the title of Divisions I, II and III. I told myself personally that I don’t care what Division I’m at or what school I’m at. The world will know who did. And that’s all I had to do, and I try to emphasize that a lot with kids growing up. It doesn’t matter where you are in life as long as you do what you need to do and show the world who you are, you’ll get the recognition you need.

You’re back after that redshirt season, have great stats, play good, a year goes by and you get injured.

Yes, so a month before the season started, Oct. 19, 2022, I went down in practice and come to find out that I tore my ACL, but I didn’t find out until a month later. So I played on a torn ACL for an entire month. The doctors didn’t understand how I was doing it without falling down having any pains. Nothing. I had three different specialists telling me that I was good to go, I just had a sprained knee and that they didn’t think anything was wrong because I was still so active. It didn’t make sense. Shortly after that, I played a couple of scrimmages with the team and I noticed that my left quad was just getting smaller than the right one and I was still doing box jumps, I was squatting. It just didn’t make sense to me why my leg was getting smaller, so I eventually went to the school doctor and immediately, as soon as he saw me, he said, “We’re going to get an MRI.” On my birthday, which is Nov. 10, he called me and said. “Hey, it’s completely torn.” They told me that I could actually play on my legs since I’ve been doing so well for so long, but the reward versus risk factor wasn’t worth it. They told me if you want to go play after this, after college, you should get the surgery done. So I decided to play those first two games with Cal, because we’re already at the tournament and I found out the day before a game. So I said, “You know what? I’m going to play these two games, give them my all, then I’m going to get the surgery done.” So that’s just what I did and it broke me completely.

And how was the road back for you?

So my recovery was very shaky. I personally felt like. “Man, I’m never going to get back. I’m never going to get back because this is my first serious injury and it’s one of the hardest injuries out of all the injuries possible.” I was nervous. I was scared. But again, the reason why I’m good today is the reason why I came back from this injury. My hard work and my dedication. I always keep those two words in my vocabulary and I try to keep emphasizing those two things. I worked out my leg every day and I didn’t give up.

Did it help you in seeing the game differently?

Yes, before my injury, I was very physical. I was a dog and I would always bang a lot. After the first year, I’ve noticed that I didn’t bang as much. I used my finesse and the fact that I’m agile to my advantage. I didn’t want to get banged up all the time with the big girls how I used to, so I’m like, “Okay, I’m gonna use my speed against you. I’m gonna use my jump shot. I’m gonna use the fact that I can dribble when you can’t.” It made me use different aspects of my game that I never really had to use, but it helped me to my advantage because now my shot is better. My ball handling is better. My view of the court is better. I want to give the ball up more often.

And so you moved away from the basket and when you shoot, you barely leave the floor, right?

Yes, that is correct. My style is very basic, but extremely effective. I’m 6-foot-1 with a 6-foot-4 wingspan, so when I shoot my arms are typically longer than whoever is guarding me. That’s why I don’t jump as much when I shoot. I’m also a very smart player, so I’m always aware of how close someone is to me when I’m going for my jump shot. So if I have enough room and time to shoot, I don’t leave the floor much.

The WNBA. Do you think that that’s a possibility later in your career?

I honestly think I’m 24 years old. I think I’m ready to hang with the big dogs. I just know that if I have the same training, proper training as everyone else, I will be better than the most. I’m not scared of anyone. If they were to call me from the WNBA, I’ll be ready to suit up today. If that is one of my callings, I would definitely do it, but I really want to enjoy playing overseas for as long as I can. I think that’s just something that I really want to do and stay overseas, and I don’t really care too much for them. Honestly, I just want everybody to know that I’m coming and I’m going to work hard. I’m not going to give up and I’m working for a ring and a trophy.

A special thank you to Elite Basketball Agents for arranging the interview.