By R.L. Bynum

When Trayanna Crisp drives to the basket, she does it with a verve uncommon among guards in women’s college basketball.

The 5–8 incoming junior, who will transfer to North Carolina after two seasons at Arizona State, is built like a linebacker and has similar strength and determination. Instead of getting to the quarterback, she’s getting to the rim.

“I get that a lot,” Crisp said of the linebacker comparisons. “Just because I’m pretty much all muscle. It’s not like I’m going to go flying.”

Much like a fellow UNC transfer guard, 5–5 graduate Grace Townsend from Richmond, Crisp, who most simply call “Tray,” isn’t shy about battling much taller players around the basket.

“Being that I am shorter, it is a little bit harder to get in the mix and get down there,” said Crisp, who can bench-press 130 pounds and takes 48.7% of her shots at the rim. “With my frame, if you reach for the ball, you’re probably gonna smack my hand because you’re not gonna necessarily get the ball on the first smack.”

A combo guard who played some point guard for the Sun Devils, Crisp isn’t going to wow you with finesse moves.

“I like to use my body a lot,” Crisp said. “I’m able to shoot the ball pretty well, able to get downhill to use my body. I’m also able to facilitate, see my teammates, create for my teammates. I think that’s one of the No. 1 things I do pretty well — just driving the lane simply because I want to attack my teammate’s man so that I can get them open.”

Crisp, 20, led Arizona State last season in 3-pointers per game (1.4) and was second in scoring (12.1 points), assists (2.1), steals (1.3), free throws made (52) and attempted (68) and free-throw percentage (76.5%).

Crisp, who shot 40.6% from the floor and made 33.3% of her 3-point attempts last season, said she likes to take charges, get deflections and be pesky on defense.

UNC coach Courtney Banghart said that Crisp, a four-star recruit who ESPN ranked No. 73 in the Class of 2022, was exactly what she was looking for in the portal.

“She’s an experienced guard who impacts the game on both sides of the ball,” Banghart said. “She can score and make plays for others, which will improve our offensive attack as a whole.”

As a freshman and sophomore, Crisp won Arizona state 5-A championships at Millennium High School in Goodyear, just outside of Phoenix, with former UNC center Ali Zelaya. That made losing 20 games in both of her seasons at Arizona State tough.

“Obviously, it’s better to learn through winning,” Crisp said, “but I did learn through losing as well and I feel like that’s kind of made me into who I am today because I am a born winner.

“Coming from high school, winning all the championships, I am used to winning,” she said. “So, when it came to losing, it was very hard for me. And I feel like I was able to grow and learn, and now I’m ready to grow with winning.”

She loved her overall experience at Arizona State and admits that leaving was hard. She is one of six Sun Devils who entered the transfer portal, with two also ACC-bound — 6–3 forward Journey Thompson to Syracuse and 6–2 forward Sandra Magolico to SMU.

“I just wanted something bigger for myself,” she said. “I wanted to be part of something bigger. I wanted to be able to grow. I do want to be a part of more winning. I want to experience something different. Being that I am from Arizona, I feel like this is all I know, and I feel like it is important to have some change. And I feel like this was something that was big for me.”

Although her team struggled to win, Crisp had some impressive games against big-time Pac-12 opponents that finished in the top 10 of the AP poll: 17 points, five assists and two rebounds against No. 5 USC; 16 points, five rebounds and four steals against No. 9 Stanford; and 13 points, five rebounds and three assists against No. 10 UCLA.

She finished her Arizona State career by collecting 19 points, two assists and two rebounds against No. 22 Utah at the Pac-12 tournament.

“We did compete toe to toe and never backed down. So, I feel like that’s something that I was able to instill into myself,” Crisp said. “It was one of the biggest conferences, and it was very tough. Had a lot big names, and I feel like that’s how I learned. I was playing against the best of the best, although we were losing.”

Her best career game was a 73–66 home double-overtime win over Washington on Feb. 16, when she scored 23 points, seven rebounds — career highs — and two steals in 50 minutes. She has scored at least three 3-pointers six times, including a career-high four on Dec. 8 against Grand Canyon.

Crisp, who entered the transfer portal on April 8, said Carolina didn’t enter the picture until assistant coach Daniel Metzelfeld contacted her about a week before she committed to the Tar Heels.

On her first trip to North Carolina, she visited the UNC campus May 2–4 and committed on May 6. During the second day of her visit, guard Deja Kelly — who committed Monday to Oregon — announced that she wouldn’t return to UNC for her fifth season.

“I wouldn’t say it’s related,” Crisp said of her decision and Kelly deciding to move on from UNC, “but it played a role in my commitment. I feel like, with her leaving, it leaves room for more scoring and an open spot. And I feel like that helped me to narrow it down, too. I could see myself thriving here and being a part of this winning culture.”

She talked a little about Carolina with two former teammates who should know — Zelaya, who will play her fifth college season at UNCW, and Morasha Wiggins, who has been at Arizona State since transferring after her 2021–22 freshman season at UNC.

“I didn’t really talk to them much about it because it is my process,” Crisp said. “I didn’t want to let them be the deciding factor for me.”

It didn’t take long for Crisp to pick UNC over four other schools she was considering but preferred not to name. She said Banghart, her staff and the players were all welcoming and were, “really adamant about getting me on campus and making me a priority.”

Crisp said that they conveyed how much of an immediate impact she could have. She loves the program’s culture and how close players are.

“They go over to each other’s houses or apartments and just chill. They’re always there for one another; they’re always hanging out,” Crisp said. “Just the vibe I got when I was on campus and I was talking with the team. Everybody was interconnected, and everybody knew what was going on. Just the way they talk to each other. I just feel like it’s in a respectful manner. It’s very playful and joyful as well. And I feel like that’s something I really wanted to be a part of.”

As what she calls an outgoing but “real chill person,” Crisp should right in.

“I laugh a lot,” she said. “I joke a lot. People always call me a troll because I’m always just joking around about little stuff.”

Crisp was born in Oklahoma but has lived in the Phoenix area since she was four, so moving across the country to a new state is a significant change. Besides tournament games in the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, she’s never played a college game east of the Mississippi River.

She’s wary of going from the dry heat of the Valley to the humidity of North Carolina she experienced last week.

“As long as I’m not in the freezing cold, I’ll be OK,” said Crisp, who will settle for No. 14 instead of the No. 4 she’s worn her entire career since redshirt freshman Laila Hull wears the latter.

Crisp has a big family, including a twin sister, Bryanna, and two younger brothers, Nelly,14, and Nathan, 8. Her sister doesn’t play sports, but Nelly, who wants to be a pilot, runs track and plays basketball, and Nathan plays soccer and football. Her father, Trey Pinkson, played baseball in high school, and her mother, Tracie, didn’t play sports.

Her family is large, but she’ll join an even larger group of Carolina guards: Townsend, graduate Lexi Donarski, redshirt junior Kayla McPherson, junior Indya Nivar, sophomores Reniya Kelly and Sydney Barker and freshmen Jordan Zubich and Lanie Grant.

There will be plenty of competition for playing time, but Crisp sees the depth as a huge advantage.

“We’re all gonna play our role well, and be able to use one another and understand each other, and I feel like that’s something that’s very important,” Crisp said. “You look at South Carolina, they have depth down there, and I feel like that’s important to not just have one person in one spot, but to rather have everybody who can do the same thing.”

On her bucket list is to play in the NCAA tournament, and that seems likely at Carolina.

“I just want everybody to know I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Crisp said. “I’m definitely going to work my butt off to help this team this year.”

Watching the Tar Heels’ talented backcourt come together should be fun.

Year	No.	Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	5	Liza Astakhova (LEE-zah uh-STAH-koh-vuh)	W	6–2
Freshman	7	Nyla Brooks	W	6–1
		Brooks brings dazzling skills, confidence to UNC
Freshman	3	Taliyah Henderson	W	6–1
		Long wait, journey for 5-star freshman Henderson after second knee surgery nearly over
Freshman	26	Taissa Queiroz	G	6–1
		Queiroz came to USA from Brazil to chase her dreams
Sophomore	17	Elina Aarnisalo (EH-lee-nah AHR-nee-sah-loh)	G	5–10
		Aarnisalo brings flash, IQ and pro experience to backcourt
Sophomore	0	Lanie Grant	G	5–9
Sophomore	34	Blanca Thomas	C	6–5
Sophomore	1	Jordan Zubich	G	5–11
RS sophomore	21	Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS sophomore	4	Laila Hull	W	6–1
Junior	10	Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Junior	15	Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
Senior	2	Nyla Harris	F	6–2
		It was hard for Harris to say ‘no’ to UNC again
Senior	24	Indya Nivar	G	5–10

Class of 2025

Player	Rating	ESPN rank	Position	Height	Hometown
Nyla Brooks	Five star	No. 13	Wing	6–2	Alexandria, Va.
Taliyah Henderson	Five star	No. 27	Wing	6–1	Vail, Ariz.
Taissa Queiroz	Four star	No. 77	Guard	6–1	Santa Rosa, Calif.
Liza Astakhova	—	—	Wing	6–1	Moscow, Russia

Date	Day/month	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 90–42	vs. N.C. Central	1–0
6	Thursday	W, 71–37	vs. Elon	2–0
			WBCA Challenge Las Vegas
13	Thursday	L, 78–60	vs. No. 4 UCLA	2–1
15	Saturday	W, 82–68	vs. Fairfield	3–1
			———————————
20	Thursday	W, 85–50	at N.C. A&T	4–1
23	Sunday	W, 94–48	vs. UNCG	5–1
			Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico
27	Thursday	W, 83–48	vs. South Dakota St.	6–1
28	Friday	W, 85–73	vs. Kansas State	7–1
29	Saturday	W, 80–63	vs. Columbia	8–1
	December		ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
4	Thursday	W, 79–64	at No. 2 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 16 Louisville	9–3, 0–1 ACC
17	Wednesday	W, 84–34	vs. UNCW	10–3
21	Sunday	Noon	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN Extra
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Stanford	ESPN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 20 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Miami	ACCN Extra
18	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Florida State	The CW
22	Thursday	8 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
25	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	The CW
	February
2	Monday	6 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN2
5	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ACCN
8	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
12	Thursday	6 p.m.	vs. SMU	ACCN
15	Sunday	1 p.m.	at Duke	ABC
19	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	ACCN
22	Sunday	Noon	vs. Pittsburgh	ACCN
26	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Virginia	ACCN Extra
	March
1	Sunday	Noon	vs. Duke	ESPN
			ACC tournament
4–8	Wed.-Sun		Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga.
			NCAA tournament
20–24	Fri.-Mon.		First, second rounds
27–30	Fri.-Mon.		Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.
	April
3, 5	Fri., Sun		Final Four Phoenix