City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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LANGHORNE — Taylor Gurysh is the engine that keeps Neshaminy running.

She’s often overshadowed by junior teammates Reese Zemitis and Lola Ibarrondo. But if one watches Neshaminy closely, one will see Gurysh turning the ignition. 

“(Taylor’s) the perfect compliment for Reese and Lola,” head coach John Gallagher said. “She doesn’t look to score first. She looks elsewhere before she looks for herself.” 

“I remember one time my freshman year,” Zemitis added, recalling a game from her freshman season where she had a “terrible” first half. “At half-time she brought me in and told me that I had to focus and don’t worry about (my play), and that she knows [that] I’m a good player.”

Gurysh is Neshaminy’s unquestioned leader, getting elected captain three times beginning her sophomore season. 

Her selflessness extends further than her pass-first mentality and motivation. The senior captain does all the gritty work, pulling down rebounds, and never takes a defensive possession off. 

The Kutztown commit doesn’t care about recognition. She’s embraced her role and does what’s asked of her to win games. 

Gurysh had a vintage night against No. 9 Unionville. The 5-foot-10 shooting guard didn’t light up the stat sheet, but she did all the little things right in the District 1 6A tournament second round contest. She hoarded rebounds, facilitated the offense, and played physically on defense. No. 8 Neshaminy got the 42-25 win, setting up a matchup with No. 1 Perkiomen Valley on Friday. 

On top of that, she appeared on WPHT 1210 AM to speak about her selection to the All-Star Labor Classic, a girls high school all-star game sponsored by Philadelphia Organized Labor 

that raises funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 

“During that interview,” Gallagher said. “She called herself a ‘glue player,’ and sometimes people view that as a negative. Basketball people understand the importance, [but] she’s really more than a glue player. I think she undersold [herself during] that interview.

“Her rebounding [was] fantastic. She handles the ball for us. She really does do it all. I thought we did a good job of getting out into transition tonight, and she was a big part of that. She had a lot of rebounds down there in the first half and (pushed the ball) ahead. I think Jess Purdy and Lindsay Little benefited from that and (hit 3’s) off of Taylor’s passes.” 

“I make plays for myself, but mostly my teammates,” Gurysh said after the win. “I just try to do the little things good and it gets our offense going and gets everyone good shots.”

Gurysh notched her only points off a mid-range jumper in the second quarter. Still, she finished the game with seven rebounds (one offensive), three assists, one block, and a steal. 

The Labor Classic All-Star honoree led her team in rebounding and helped Neshaminy out-rebound Unionville 21-18. Gallagher and his team have emphasized offensive rebounding down the stretch. It showed Wednesday as the Longhorns got out-rebounded 12-6 on the offensive glass. 

“We didn’t use to be a huge offensive board team,” Zemitis, who had 19 points, six rebounds (four offensive), and three blocks, said. “It’s definitely been a point of emphasis we’ve been working on. 

“We have all the pieces that we need to make [a deep playoff run] and we looked at [what] we still need to improve on and (offensive rebounding) was one of the things.” 

“Getting second chances on offense is really huge,” Gurysh added. “It really gets momentum up and I just think making those little plays just brings everyone back up. When you take a shot and get the board, it just makes the mood go up and everyone just kind of plays at a higher tempo and I think it makes our team stronger together.” 

Gurysh also helped keep Neshaminy together on the defensive end after some first-half struggles.  

The senior got called on two fouls in the first half and sat more minutes than Gallagher had planned. 

Neshaminy was missing their vocal leader, and the Longhorn’s offense found success inside Neshaminy’s 3-2 matchup zone. They cut players into the paint, set off-ball screens, sealed off defenders, and created chaos. 

Gallagher noted that Gurysh’s discipline on the defensive end has improved since last season. 

“She got in foul trouble way too much for us last year,” he said. “We couldn’t afford to not have her on the court every game (we) played. Last year, she would’ve fouled out of that game in the second quarter.” 

Gurysh didn’t commit another foul for the remainder of the contest and helped her team shut down Unionville in the second half. Neshaminy allowed two points on 1-of-9 shooting in the third quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter.

However, Gallagher believes that Gurysh’s fouling tendency will serve her well at Kutztown University over the next four years. 

“She is aggressive when she has to be,” he said. “I think [she] may be a better college player because she is more physical. While at the high school level, her physicalness goes against her. [Getting called] with some tick-tack stuff that is a foul at the highschool level, but when you look at college games, they are really battling.” 

Gurysh knew she wanted to play college basketball since her freshman year of high school. She dropped field hockey and softball to focus on basketball full-time. 

She wasn’t recruited heavily but continued working the AAU circuit and played for the Mid-Atlantic Magic. Kutztown head coach Janet Malouf recognized Gurysh’s value and began her pursuit during the summer of 2021, getting a commitment last August.

Gallagher’s familiar with the Kutztown program, and knows Gurysh will fit perfectly. 

“I’ve coached probably about six players who have played or are playing there right now,” he said. “(Gurysh) is a Kutztown type player. They can do everything: handle, shoot, defend, rebound, and that’s what Janet Malouf’s lineup can do.” 

“They came to a bunch of my games,” Gurysh recalled. “They really stood out to me because they valued me for how I played the game. No one else saw me as that player, but they did, and I really respected that.

“It felt good [committing] because I didn’t get any recognition [beforehand]. It was hard also because of COVID, my whole class struggled with that, but it was finally great to have somebody reach out and see me for how I play.” 

Gurysh has grown a lot since her final season at Neshaminy began, but she isn’t quite ready to begin thinking about her collegiate career. The senior is fixated on leading Neshaminy on a district and, maybe, a state tournament run. 

“(I’ve been) more vocal,” she said. “You have to get everyone together [and] pick people up when everyone is down, but I think it goes both ways. Your teammates have to respect you, but you also have to have respect for them.” 

“I’m gonna be sad to leave this team. We have a really good team this year, really great chemistry. We always have a fun time, but we are serious when we need to be,” Gurysh continued. “I am really going to miss them after the season’s over but I still think we have a long way to go.”

By Quarter
Unionville:     6   |   9   |   2   |   8   ||  25
Neshaminy: 13  |  13  |  14  |   2   ||  42

Scoring
Unionville: Angstadt 10, Lang 5, Amoss 3, Della Barba 3, Megill 2, Menninger 2

Neshaminy: Zemitis 19, Ibarrondo 8, Little 6, Cofield 4, Purdy 3, Gurysh 2