Coming into the 2025-26 season, South Carolina had multiple new faces to integrate into the team, along with several returning players taking on new roles. But the one constant in the Gamecocks’ lineup was Raven Johnson.
A fifth-year player, Johnson had another season of eligibility due to tearing her ACL after only two games during her freshman year in 2021-22. With several key upperclassmen, including Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall and Sania Feagin off to the WNBA, Johnson was the logical choice to assume more of a leadership role.
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That leadership was needed, with new players — notably Ta’Niya Latson and Madina Okot — arriving from the transfer portal, returners like Tessa Johnson and Adhel Tac in line for bigger roles, and the loss of Ashlyn Watkins and Chloe Kitts to ACL injuries.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley viewed it as a prime opportunity for Johnson to step into that larger role.
”We have probably seven players that have to play a different role for us … and it’s hard,” Staley said following the team’s win against USC on Sunday. “We used to have a core group of players playing together for a long time, and Raven is basically the lone person that has been a part of that regime where we had a core group of players. … She’s got to take on a big responsibility. She’s got a lot of help … but most of them don’t know the standard that they have to play.”
South Carolina found itself on the West Coast on Saturday night, taking on the USC Trojans in a matchup for the title of, ‘The Real SC.’ The Gamecocks dominated the second half en route to a 69-52 win, and Johnson shined as the team’s floor general.
She finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and two blocked shots. She shot 50% from the field, including going 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line.
However, Johnson’s impact goes beyond the stat sheet. She keeps the ball moving. She communicates with her teammates. She helps set the standard that Staley wants. Johnson learned how to become a leader by observing her former teammates who left their mark on the program.
”It started with the people before me. Aliyah Boston, Henny [Destanni Henderson], Zia Cooke, they showed me a lot of the things about the standard here, honestly,” Johnson said after the win against USC. “So I think I know what the standard is, and I know what it takes to get to Final Fours, honestly.”
As South Carolina has started the season 4-0, Johnson has reprised her role as the starting point guard, playing 29 minutes per game. She’s averaging 9.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals. She’s shooting 50% from the field, is 6-for-10 from the 3-point line and is 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
Those are all career-high numbers, and Staley is confident that Johnson is everything a team needs in a floor leader, especially at the next level and amid continued scrutiny.
“When you have a point guard like Raven who is a pass-first point guard, like the consummate point guard, and then you hear so many people break her game down and minimize what she brings to the table, it’s disheartening,” Staley said. “It’s ignorant because if you really don’t know what she’s bringing to the table, you don’t really understand the game. Raven lost 11 games from 2017 to today, and we want to talk about can she score. Yes, she can score, she can really score.
”But when it comes down to winning, she makes the right plays, whether that’s score, whether that’s defending, whether that’s rebounding, whether it’s getting other people involved. I love Raven, we’re gonna miss her presence. But when you think about a winner, when you think about a consummate point guard, Raven is that. And if WNBA teams want to be like us, meaning the amount of success that we’ve had with her in the lineup, they’re gonna take Raven in the first round.”
As South Carolina continues to smooth things out and get everyone acclimated, Johnson is willing to play whatever role the team needs from her on any given night.
”Honestly, when I just think about winning, good things happen,” Johnson said. “… I just think about winning, making other people smile and let the game come to me.”
