Watching South Carolina beat UConn, ‘I was in love,’ this new Gamecock commit says

Up until recently, Raven Johnson was planning to take all her officials visits. The 5-foot-8 point guard, ranked 13th among all players in the recruiting class of 2021, had a list of schools pursuing her all among the elite of women’s college basketball — Oregon, Louisville, Baylor and UCLA.

But with the rise and spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Atlanta native decided to not wait until those visits will be allowed again. And when it came to her decision, her reasoning was simple.

“I was like, I just built and felt a relationship with (coach Dawn Staley), ... I really like South Carolina,” Johnson said. “And it’s close to home, so why not gonna stay close to home at the best school and win a championship here at South Carolina?”

Johnson announced her pledge to the Gamecocks in late June during a televised special to celebrate the three consecutive state championships won by her high school, Westlake. In doing so, the Atlanta Journal Constitution Player of the Year capped a burst of four blue-chip prospects all picking South Carolina.

All four — Johnson, guard Saniya Rivers (No. 3 in ESPN’s rankings), forward Sania Feagin (No. 6) and guard Bree Hall (No. 26) — are five-star recruits, giving Staley and her staff a very strong chance at their second No. 1 recruiting class in three years. And not only do they all know each other, Johnson said, but they had a group chat together throughout the recruiting process.

But it wasn’t a guarantee they’d all end up together, Johnson said.

“I don’t know how it happened, but we all were like, ‘Do you like South Carolina?’ Everybody’s like, ‘How do you feel about South Carolina?’ We were just asking each other how we felt about South Carolina, the things that we liked about South Carolina,” Johnson said. “We didn’t even know we were going to commit.”

By the time Staley started tweeting about birdies flying into nests, her typical announcement when a player has committed, Johnson knew. She was the last of the four to publicly reveal her choice, but she and South Carolina had been connected for quite some time. The Gamecocks extended a scholarship offer in July 2018 and since then, she’s visited campus several times.

Most recently, she was there this past season when South Carolina defeated powerhouse UConn for the first time in front of a soldout crowd at Colonial Life Arena. The entire experience made an impression.

“I love that fan base. The fan base, when I went to the South Carolina-UConn game, I was in love with the game,” Johnson said. “The fan base, they don’t let you down, the atmosphere.

“And when I went to the back, the way (Staley) was talking to the team, she made sure they were focused. The culture. When she says ‘For the Culture’, yes, it’s for the culture.”

That familiarity, especially with Staley, was key to her decision.

“It was a hard decision, but what really got to me about South Carolina was Dawn Staley. The way she coaches, me being a point guard, her being a point guard coach, I feel that she can help my game develop at the next level and get me to where I need to be in life,” Johnson said.

Growing up, Johnson said she looked up to Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and through her recruitment, they developed a connection. Johnson will join a growing list of elite point guards to come to USC — recently graduated Tyasha Harris was a first-round WNBA draft pick, and rising junior Destanni Henderson and rising sophomore Zia Cooke were both the top ranked point guards in their class.

Before that, however, Johnson has one more season of high school ball, presuming the pandemic allows for it. At the top of her list of goals? A fourth consecutive state title with Westlake. From there, she hopes to win the Geico Nationals tournament, be named a McDonald’s All-American and be selected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic. A consummate point guard, Johnson describes herself as a playmaker who can lead on both sides of the floor and boost her teammates.

Then, come the fall of 2021, she and the rest of the star-studded class will arrive in Columbia with a simple goal.

“We’re already saying, we’re going for that national championship,” Johnson said.