Sides ‘Always Dreamed of Doing This’
Dec 19, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Taryn Sides sits in a postgame news conference. She has just scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes in a game against Jackson State on December 1. She is a 5-foot-6 freshman point guard from Phillipsburg, Kansas, a town of about 2,400 residents, which is home to the Majestic Theatre, Fort Bissell Museum, and the C&R Railroad.
Already, she has become a powerful force off the bench for the 12th-ranked Wildcats.
"I'm just getting used to the physicality and speed of the game," Sides says. "Coming from a little 3A school is a big difference, so getting comfortable with everything is huge."
Sides doesn't know it, but she'll come off the bench and turn into an assist machine over the next four games — eight assists against McNeese State, six against Missouri, nine against North Florida, and a career-high 10 more against Oral Roberts — while committing just five turnovers over those four games. She'll have 57 assists and 11 turnovers in the first 12 games of her career. After 12 games, she'll rank second in Division I with a 5.18 assist-to-turnover ratio. It's amazing to see, really, her poise on the floor, along with her awareness and anticipation. That's a hard thing to master. Especially at this stage in a freshman season.
"There's a lot of areas that she can get better at," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie says, "and there are a lot of areas where she is beyond her years."
She committed to K-State on August 15, 2021. This was before she was rated the 64th-best player in the nation by Blue Star Basketball, before she was a 2023 McDonald's All-American nominee, before she was a four-time Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-State recipient, and before she scored 40 points to lead Phillipsburg High School against Concordia in perhaps the best performance of her standout high school career.
There was always something about K-State. She wanted to be a part of it. She prides herself on being from the state of Kansas.
"It's huge," she says. "I've always dreamed of doing this since I was little, so actually being here and representing not just Kansas but also little towns for all these little kids is awesome. It's a great feeling, and I'm honored."
Mittie saw her play in her high school freshman year. He spotted her potential right away.
"My early memory is she could do all the stuff," he says. "You could see the headiness of her as a point guard. She understood it and saw it, all those things weren't a question mark at a very young age."
She's growing up rather quickly for the Wildcats, 11-1, who finish out their non-conference slate against Southern with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State opens its Big 12 season at Cincinnati on December 30.
"My first memory I have of her we were playing a game last season and she had come on a visit," K-State senior guard Gabby Gregory says. "It wasn't her official visit, but an unofficial, she had already committed here, but I remember seeing her and thinking, 'She's so little.' She was like a little baby."
She signed her letter-of-intent with K-State on November 9, 2022. She arrived in Manhattan this summer.
"My earliest memory? I think as an upperclassman with a freshman coming in, you're always skeptical," K-State 2022 All-American senior center Ayoka Lee says. "Like, how are they going to adjust to everything that's going on?"
And now?
"She plays way bigger than she is," Gregory says. "She's come into her role really well leading the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. That's pretty incredible. I've been pleasantly surprised with her play."
Lee says, "She plays like she's 6-foot-2."
Sides isn't necessarily surprised by her early success while backing up star junior Serena Sundell.
"I'm just going out there and trying my best to find the open teammate," Sides says. "They're just knocking it down. I mean, it's easy when you have Yokie inside and all you have to do is throw it up and she'll make it."
Sides averages 4.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 assists in 18.0 minutes per game off the bench this season. She has six games with at least five assists. She has made 16 shots, including 12 3-pointers. She played a career-high 24 minutes in a 65-58 win at then-No. 5 Iowa. She had eight points, six rebounds and three assists against the Hawkeyes and sank a pair of free throws late to put the game away.
"She's filled that role well," Lee says of Sides contributions off the bench. "I know she's used to scoring more. That can be hard for a point guard or a freshman, but she did a really good job of finding how she could contribute and filling that role well."
There will be many more words written about Sides in her college career, many more highlights, and many more standout performances. That's what Mittie envisioned for her several years ago. Some of her potential is coming to fruition. Some still needs to develop. She wants to become a better defender. She wants to become a more consistent scorer. It should be an exciting ride for Sides and the Wildcats.
"I think you're going to see her in time become a player who can put up big scoring numbers," Mittie says. "This is a player who in practice might go three or four straight trips and knock down 3s. We've seen glimpses of that, but it's not necessary for her to try and do that right now. We want her to stay aggressive and get her team into the best position to score. I like the pace that she's playing at right now."
For now, she stands outside the postgame news conference. The sounds of children cheering fills the tunnel at Bramlage Coliseum. Sides steals a glance at the children and smiles.
"It's kind of crazy, actually, when I think about it," she says. "I was one of those kids not too long ago, so now it's surreal that I'm one of the ones kids are looking up to.
"I'm honored."
Taryn Sides sits in a postgame news conference. She has just scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes in a game against Jackson State on December 1. She is a 5-foot-6 freshman point guard from Phillipsburg, Kansas, a town of about 2,400 residents, which is home to the Majestic Theatre, Fort Bissell Museum, and the C&R Railroad.
Already, she has become a powerful force off the bench for the 12th-ranked Wildcats.
"I'm just getting used to the physicality and speed of the game," Sides says. "Coming from a little 3A school is a big difference, so getting comfortable with everything is huge."
Sides doesn't know it, but she'll come off the bench and turn into an assist machine over the next four games — eight assists against McNeese State, six against Missouri, nine against North Florida, and a career-high 10 more against Oral Roberts — while committing just five turnovers over those four games. She'll have 57 assists and 11 turnovers in the first 12 games of her career. After 12 games, she'll rank second in Division I with a 5.18 assist-to-turnover ratio. It's amazing to see, really, her poise on the floor, along with her awareness and anticipation. That's a hard thing to master. Especially at this stage in a freshman season.
"There's a lot of areas that she can get better at," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie says, "and there are a lot of areas where she is beyond her years."
She committed to K-State on August 15, 2021. This was before she was rated the 64th-best player in the nation by Blue Star Basketball, before she was a 2023 McDonald's All-American nominee, before she was a four-time Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-State recipient, and before she scored 40 points to lead Phillipsburg High School against Concordia in perhaps the best performance of her standout high school career.
There was always something about K-State. She wanted to be a part of it. She prides herself on being from the state of Kansas.
"It's huge," she says. "I've always dreamed of doing this since I was little, so actually being here and representing not just Kansas but also little towns for all these little kids is awesome. It's a great feeling, and I'm honored."
Mittie saw her play in her high school freshman year. He spotted her potential right away.
"My early memory is she could do all the stuff," he says. "You could see the headiness of her as a point guard. She understood it and saw it, all those things weren't a question mark at a very young age."
She's growing up rather quickly for the Wildcats, 11-1, who finish out their non-conference slate against Southern with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State opens its Big 12 season at Cincinnati on December 30.
"My first memory I have of her we were playing a game last season and she had come on a visit," K-State senior guard Gabby Gregory says. "It wasn't her official visit, but an unofficial, she had already committed here, but I remember seeing her and thinking, 'She's so little.' She was like a little baby."
She signed her letter-of-intent with K-State on November 9, 2022. She arrived in Manhattan this summer.
"My earliest memory? I think as an upperclassman with a freshman coming in, you're always skeptical," K-State 2022 All-American senior center Ayoka Lee says. "Like, how are they going to adjust to everything that's going on?"
And now?
"She plays way bigger than she is," Gregory says. "She's come into her role really well leading the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. That's pretty incredible. I've been pleasantly surprised with her play."
Lee says, "She plays like she's 6-foot-2."
Sides isn't necessarily surprised by her early success while backing up star junior Serena Sundell.
"I'm just going out there and trying my best to find the open teammate," Sides says. "They're just knocking it down. I mean, it's easy when you have Yokie inside and all you have to do is throw it up and she'll make it."
Sides averages 4.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 assists in 18.0 minutes per game off the bench this season. She has six games with at least five assists. She has made 16 shots, including 12 3-pointers. She played a career-high 24 minutes in a 65-58 win at then-No. 5 Iowa. She had eight points, six rebounds and three assists against the Hawkeyes and sank a pair of free throws late to put the game away.
"She's filled that role well," Lee says of Sides contributions off the bench. "I know she's used to scoring more. That can be hard for a point guard or a freshman, but she did a really good job of finding how she could contribute and filling that role well."
There will be many more words written about Sides in her college career, many more highlights, and many more standout performances. That's what Mittie envisioned for her several years ago. Some of her potential is coming to fruition. Some still needs to develop. She wants to become a better defender. She wants to become a more consistent scorer. It should be an exciting ride for Sides and the Wildcats.
"I think you're going to see her in time become a player who can put up big scoring numbers," Mittie says. "This is a player who in practice might go three or four straight trips and knock down 3s. We've seen glimpses of that, but it's not necessary for her to try and do that right now. We want her to stay aggressive and get her team into the best position to score. I like the pace that she's playing at right now."
For now, she stands outside the postgame news conference. The sounds of children cheering fills the tunnel at Bramlage Coliseum. Sides steals a glance at the children and smiles.
"It's kind of crazy, actually, when I think about it," she says. "I was one of those kids not too long ago, so now it's surreal that I'm one of the ones kids are looking up to.
"I'm honored."
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