Tamba, Florida – Raven Johnson has grown widely and fell jaw.
“She said that? Is this real?”
She called her colleague Sanya Vein and pointed to a tweet on the correspondent phone: “Look at this!”
While Johnson was playing a 27 -minute role to lead Gamecocks in South Carolina to win four finals against Texas, and perhaps greater Wnba A player was ever praised. Johnson achieved a great goalkeeper in the ruling national championship, where he achieved two points, six rebounds, three passes, and two blocs in the 74-57 victory over Texas in the national semi-finals in Amal Arena in Tampa on Friday evening against a crowd of 19,731 fans.
Two people were in the building to win South Carolina – on the occasion of their third trip to the national title game in four years – LEGENDS Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. the previous Uconn The teammates were once again offering an alternative broadcast to Final Four on Espn+, where they spoke frankly about the game and its players, meeting guests, laughter, drink, making jokes and providing analysis.
In the third quarter, when South Carolina outperformed Texas 20-9 to build comfortable progress and pulled away, Johnson outperformed Taylor Jones for 5 feet, 5 feet, 5 feet, 5 feet and 5 feet and finds the attention of Turasi.
“The Raven Johnson will have a home in WNBA,” Torrasi, who holds a six -time Olympic gold medal and a WNBA registration leader at all. “Every time I watch her playing, she plays hard, competes strongly.”
A correspondent listened to the alternative broadcast this quote on X, where he went somewhat virus, and got more than 119,000 views. Johnson did not see him until one of them showed her in the Treasury Room after Gamecocks won.
Diana Turasi: “Raven Johnson will have a home in Wnba … Every time I watch her play, she plays hard, competes strongly.”
– Mitchell Northham (@primetimemitchch) April 5, 2025
She clearly grown and was somewhat powerless at the beginning when she asked for her reaction. She covered her mouth and sat then stood back, showed the post to Feagin, then said: “I sent this to my mother.”
Then Johnson added: “It is like a Cuban Bryant from women’s basketball. I will think about this all day … This means a lot, frankly. She is a legend. This lady knows basketball … so I don’t know what to say. This is crazy … it’s wonderful. This is great.
These areas of one of the great WNBA greats mean everything to Johnson, who has been examined and criticized throughout her career, although it is a major component of the winning South Carolina recipe. People have said that they do not record enough, not all this passers -by. They reject its effect because its statistics do not explode the page.
But these people – let’s call them hate Johnson and their skeptics – do not know the ball.
“It is very ridiculous that people do not respect it in the way that should be respected,” Birri Hall, his teammate South Carolina in Johnson, told SB Nation. “It is only overlooked by people who are not actually watching. If you actually watch the game, you can know what Raven Johnson does.”
After playing only two games as a new student due to a knee injury at the end of the season, Johnson was a fixed force for GameCocks and a person had an effect on a large group of decisive victories. During the past few seasons, South Carolina is 107-4 in the games that Johnson plays-which gives it 96.3 victory in the college.
It can be said that Johnson is the smartest South Carolina defender, best passer -by, and the most self -denial player. The Cemney No. 2 was the total that came out of Atlanta at Westelik Secondary School in Georgia in 2021. She could go almost anywhere in the country, and to many places where she would have had the freedom to search for its shots and statistics.
Instead, she chose South Carolina and a suitable system. She wanted to win.
Johnson was brought to a program that was at the time led by Alia Boston and “The Freshies”. When Johnson recovered from her knee injury and watched the bench, South Carolina won 2021-22 by a national championship behind a team, with only one player reached more than 30 minutes per game and 11 different players witnessed at least 27 games. Boston was undoubtedly the best player in the team, but the team was not driven by the stars. Stallie went deeply in her seat and everyone played their role. It was related to collective unity, planning, team principles and identity. It is a program in which everyone understands their role, and Johnson has flourished in her salary.
“Frankly, I used to be someone who listened to the rejectionists and things like this,” Johnson said on Thursday. “I learn how I don’t care and know that I am a winner, as (Stallie) said. I do everything necessary to win.”
Keep in mind that while Johnson is only 4.9 points, 4.4 rebound balls, 2.8 passes and 1.4 stealing in 24.2 minutes for each game, SEC led the auxiliary rate in this season with a +3.26-program record for national heroes three times. It also published a wrong rate of 1.6 percent in the Supreme Education Council this season, which was the fourth best in the league. Simplyly, Johnson takes care of the ball better than anyone else in the country’s most difficult women’s basketball league, and knows how to actively defend without spoiling.
“The way I developed was incredible,” said Hall. “It is our defense anchor.”
Johnson’s star defense was fully offered against Texas. Late in the first quarter, with South Carolina’s level by five points, Johnson tracked the goalkeeper Rori Harmon and mobilized her shot near the edge, Harmon is sent to the ground and gave possession and momentum to GameCocks. Following this was the operation of 11-7 for South Crulina to close the opening framework.
Johnson said: “Do not come on our island when it comes to defense,” Johnson said. “When we are in front of you, just know that you will have to make a difficult bucket, frankly.”
Because of a student injury, Johnson can play another season of university basketball. It is also qualified for the WNBA project because it was 22 years earlier this year.
If the Taurasi evaluation is any indicator, the selection of the SEC All-Defensive team will be formulated, either this year or the next, and has a long career.
“Everyone is looking forward to it,” Johnson said. “It is the face of women’s basketball,” Johnson said of Turas “I have done everything you can dream of a little girl.”
While critics can hold their discussions about Johnson’s talents or prospects as a professional, there is one confirmed thing and cannot leave South Carolina as one of the greatest winners in the history of the program. Last year, the unacceptable Gamecocks game in minutes and assistance led, then achieved five rebound balls, four theft, three passes, three points and two blocks in its national title on Iowa.
Sunday against Uconn, it will have an opportunity to add more important balance to its large pile of victories.
