Johnson ready for her opportunity at King
One of the most accomplished and decorated players to ever come through the Lafayette High School program will be continuing her basketball career at the next level.
Mykeria Johnson ( Class of 2022) made her decision official this past Wednesday evening by signing with King University, an NCAA Division II program in Bristol, Tenn.
Johnson said it was this past fall when she decided that she wanted to continue her playing career.
“I had come back to watch the team play and I realized I missed it,” she said. “So I made the decision to take off a semester and then come back the next one.”
She said her time playing AAU ball allowed her to get some looks by King, which got the ball rolling on her eventual recruitment.
“I’m ready,” she added. “I’m heading out (this past) Friday and I’ll begin classes (this) week. The coaches there are nice and they have a good program for sports management, which is what I’m going to major in.
“I’m really proud of myself. It’s not surprising, but I’m glad I made it here.”
Holly Rhudy, Johnson’s coach during her time with the Lady Ramblers, called her “an all-around player”.
“She has the offensive skills,” Rhudy began. “She can shoot the outside shot from very deep and she can also drive the ball in (the lane) and finish shots there. Defensively, even though she’s a guard, she led our team in blocked shots. She’s very ball-oriented and a smart player, defensively, so she can swing a game in a heartbeat on either side of the ball.”
Johnson was a three-time All-region selection and was the Walker County Girls’ Player of the Year as a senior after sharing the award with former teammate and current Chattanooga State player Latyah Barber as a junior.
As a freshman, Johnson averaged 11.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game and built on that success as a sophomore when she put up 14.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks a night. Those numbers also helped the Lady Ramblers make the GHSA state tournament for the first time in program history.
Johnson led the Lady Ramblers in scoring (17.6) and was second on the team in rebounding (5.4) as a junior, adding 2.3 steals and over one assist per game, while shooting 42.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc and 71.4 percent at the free throw line.
As a senior, she had the county honor all to herself, posting 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.4 steals and more than a block a game. Johnson graduated from Lafayette as a member of the 1,000-point club.
“She’s also a great kid that wants to work hard and wants to please others, and that’s why I feel like she’s going to be a good fit in college,” Rhudy added. “Once she sees what the coaches there are wanting from her and what her role is going to be, she’s going to accept that and give them 110 (percent).
“That’s obviously going to pay off in the classroom as well because we all realize that’s what she’s going there for first and foremost, her education. I think she’s just ready to seize the opportunity to play something she loves at the collegiate level.”
Johnson said she hoped to bring leadership to the Tornadoes.
“I want to go there and be a leader,” she stated. “Just play my regular game, like I usually do, just stay focused and stay in it.”
King went into the holiday break at 3-10 overall, but 3-2 in Conference Carolinas play. They went 13-13 in 2021-22 and had a 12-10 record in conference play.