INDIANAPOLIS — Raven Johnson played in three NCAA national championship games while at South Carolina and participated in multiple international events with USA Basketball. The 5-foot-9 Indiana Fever guard is well-versed in competing on the biggest stages and under the brightest lights.
Even so, the emotions ahead of Saturday’s preseason opener at the New York Liberty are hitting differently for the WNBA rookie as the reality of her situation begins slowly sinking in.
“I feel like I’m dreaming,” Johnson enthusiastically said Friday morning. “I can’t believe I’m in the WNBA. I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little girl. I feel like once that first game comes, I’m going to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re playing against New York. This is Sabrina Ionescu. Those are girls I looked up to in middle school.’ It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be crazy.”
One of three Fever rookies expected to debut this weekend, Johnson’s infectiously energetic and upbeat personality has shined through in interviews and caught the attention of her coaches and teammates through the first few days of training camp.
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The reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and 10th overall pick has displayed a willingness to “get after it” on defense, assistant coach Briann January said Thursday. Johnson is physically disruptive and very smart, she continued, praising how quickly she has picked up on what they’re teaching her and adjusted from day-to-day.
“I’ve been impressed,” January smiled.
For her part, Johnson has been keen to learn from her teammates, joking that they were probably already tired of her and all the questions she asks a couple days into camp.
“I’ve learned a lot (this week) about moving without the ball in my hands,” Johnson said. “Everyone on this team has elite-level IQ. They move with a purpose, they’re smart, they know what they’re doing — they’re vets.”
In terms of advice ahead of her first WNBA game, Johnson’s been reminded to not put undue pressure on herself. Put simply: She’s a rookie playing against elite competition. Mistakes are going to happen and she needs to give herself some grace.
To that end, fifth-year veteran Lexie Hull encourages rookies to watch the people in front of them and use the first five minutes to get a feel for the pace, then once they’re out there: “Try to have fun with it and play without nerves. … It’s just another basketball game.”
Said coach Stephanie White: “We expect there are going to be some nerves and a little bit of scatteredness to everything they do, but (we want them to) be who they are and enjoy this experience. It’s a preseason game. We play them for a reason.”
White did not delve into specifics on the rotation for Saturday’s preseason game, but said she would like to get everyone some minutes — the newcomers and rookies, in particular — as they test different rotations to see how they click on both ends of the floor.
“We’ve started to sketch some (rotations) together, what we’d like to see, who we’d like to see with each other in an ideal situation,” White said, adding they will evaluate player availability following Friday’s practice. “New York also presents some challenges with their size and their length. We’re big on the interior, but not at the guard position, so we’ll look at that, see who they have out there at times and adjust to that.”
A smile swept across Johnson’s face once more when asked if she might take a moment Saturday to look around Barclays Center and soak in the moment.
“I’m about to be like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is crazy.’ This is a surreal moment,'” she beamed. “I’m going to look at the players and be like, ‘Breanna Stewart? What the heck? Sabrina Ionescu?’ I’m about to do stuff like that.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Raven Johnson readies for first WNBA game with Fever: ‘Those are girls I looked up to’
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
