Kays' Turner doesn’t let being deaf stop her from shining

It’s happened countless times over the past four years. Kankakee High School girls basketball senior point guard TaLeah Turner fearlessly drives to the basket and earns a foul. Whether heckles from the opposition or cheers from her supporters, the crowd noise that often can deter free-throw shooters doesn’t stand a chance with her.

Turner, born deaf, briefly takes out her cochlear implants within a moment’s notice. And as she focuses, the background noise becomes silent.

It’s her way to take advantage of a condition many would perceive to be a disability. But tucked under a headband while she’s on the hardwood or in track and field, or under her flag football headgear last fall, are the two implants that are her source of hearing – one that she got when she was 2 and one she got as a second grader.

Aside from having a sign language interpreter and spending a little extra time catching up on things she may have missed in class or in conversation with friends, Turner said “growing up was pretty normal.” And by the time she got her second implant, she’d already realized she loved sports.

An early love for the hardwood

Her athletic endeavors began when she picked up basketball and soccer at the YMCA, but it was basketball that took hold after idolizing her older brother, 2017 Kankakee graduate and fellow hooper, Khairi Bell. Turner got her chance to follow in her brother’s footsteps as a Kay the moment she got to high school, earning the point guard spot by the time her freshman year started.

“When you play at the next level, I knew high school would go real hard,” Turner said. “Seventh grade, eighth grade was easy stuff. But as a freshman going to high school, I knew it would be tougher.”

She found success right away, earning Daily Journal All-Area special mention as a freshman. She upped it to her first of back-to-back All-Area teams as a sophomore, also the first of consecutive All-Southland Athletic Conference selections. As a junior, she added Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A All-State honorable mention honors. She seems primed for recognition on all three fronts again as a senior, where she’s reached the 1,000 career point mark and currently averages 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

She’s also a two-time IHSA Class 2A State gold medalist on the girls track and field team, both on the track in sprints and as a long jumper, and was the quarterback for the school’s first-ever girls flag football team that went 10-2 and won a regional last fall.

Turner takes pride in her condition and the success she’s had athletically and as an honor roll student. While complaining about lacking a sense that a majority of people take for granted would be understandable, for Turner, it’s just one of the things that makes her herself.

“Nobody’s the same, because everybody’s different,” Turner said. “So I just do what I gotta do. That’s it.”

Becoming an inspiration

Beginning the second semester of her sophomore year, just before she and the basketball team began their current back-to-back Class 3A Regional streak, Turner began taking classes at Thornwood High School. She still lives in Kankakee, but is able to take her traditional high school coursework in a more comfortable setting as part of a program for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Most of the time, that means girls basketball coach Kurt Weigt will drive and pick up Turner to bring her to games, giving him extra one-on-one time with the most unique, inspirational player he’s coached in 34 years of experience.

“It’s as inspirational as I could imagine,” Weigt said. “She’s not let it hinder her at all, and that’s all you’d hope for. One of the things we tell our parents at the first meeting of the year is that we want to develop them into advocates for themselves and to be able to stand on two feet, have conversations, speak their mind and do all of those things. She’s really embodied all of that. Just really, really proud of her.”

While at games, those who discover she’s deaf immediately draw inspiration. And with a schedule that’s included trips that have spanned each coast in tournament play, her inspiration hasn’t just been felt statewide, but nationwide to those who have met her.

Turner knows that some of those people she meets have their own battles in life, and she also knows that with her continued excellence comes a platform to speak to those people who aspire to achieve and overcome the way she has.

“We all go through bad days, just talk to God,” Turner said. “God’s got you. God’s the greatest, I can say that. Don’t give up. Just be you and take it as peace. Don’t give up, don’t diss yourself. Just pray to God, because God is the greatest.”