2026 WNBA Draft: How South Carolina’s Raven Johnson proved she’s a first-round choose whereas scoring six factors

Halfway by means of the second quarter on Sunday afternoon in Columbia, Raven Johnson sprung a lure. Matched up in opposition to Cotie McMahon within the nook, Johnson watched and waited whereas Ole Miss ran a pick-and-roll up high. Then, simply as Kaitlin Peterson picked up her dribble and turned to throw the ball out to McMahon, Johson jumped into the passing lane for a steal and took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup. 

Johnson’s bucket put South Carolina forward by 11, and the Gamecocks led by double digits the remainder of the best way en path to a dominant 85-48 win that secured the SEC common season title for the fifth season in a row. Although Johnson solely completed with six factors within the victory — tied for the fifth-highest complete for the Gamecocks — she confirmed why she deserves to be a first-round choose within the 2026 WNBA Draft. 

Johnson’s WNBA inventory has fluctuated all through her time in faculty. She helped the Gamecocks win the nationwide championship as a redshirt junior in 2024, and drew rave critiques for her protection in opposition to Caitlin Clark within the title sport. Nevertheless, she was unable to construct on that momentum final season, and after a disappointing marketing campaign on a private degree, she determined to make use of her further 12 months of eligibility to return to highschool quite than flip professional. 

That proved to be a clever resolution. Johnson has bounced again with the very best season of her profession: 9.8 factors, 4.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals on 48.7/35.2/84.1 capturing splits. These aren’t gaudy numbers, and Johnson can nonetheless be inconsistent as a scorer, as we noticed Sunday, but it surely’s all the pieces else that is going to make her a first-round choose. 

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Jack Maloney

“I believe that Raven Johnson doesn’t get the credit score that she ought to. I believe she is the very best level guard within the nation,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin stated Sunday after Johnson’s glorious two-way efficiency, which included seven assists, three steals and only one turnover. 

Shutting down McMahon

Johnson is finest recognized for her protection, so let’s begin on that aspect of the ball. 

She spent most of Sunday shadowing McMahon, Ole Miss’s main scorer and one other potential first-round choose on this 12 months’s WNBA draft. McMahon entered the sport averaging 20.7 factors, and was coming off 39- and 25-point performances. Her sizzling streak got here to an abrupt finish

Johnson helped maintain McMahon to a season-low two factors on 0 of 9 from the sector. This was simply the second time in McMahon’s profession that she’s performed a minimum of 10 minutes and didn’t make a shot, and her two factors have been tied for the third-fewest in her profession. 

Johnson is just 5-foot-9, however she has a 6-foot-2 wingspan, which is an actual profit in opposition to greater gamers just like the 6-foot McMahon. All through the sport, Johnson obtained proper into McMahon’s area and prevented her from getting something going off the dribble. 

Right here, early within the third quarter, Johnson picks McMahon up fullcourt and forces her to surrender the ball early. As a result of McMahon is just simply contained in the halfcourt line, her cross to the wing is longer than common, which supplies Ta’Niya Latson time to select it off. Johnson does not get any credit score for this turnover within the field rating, however she precipitated it. 

A couple of possessions later, McMahon does not even attempt to convey the ball up the ground and throws it forward as an alternative. She will get it again close to the highest of the important thing, however Johnson’s strain instantly forces her backwards, after which Johnson pokes the ball away for what ought to have been one other turnover. 

“I assumed our gamers did an ideal job, Raven particularly,” South Carolina coach Daybreak Staley stated of her group’s job defending McMahon. “The primary line of that protection was so arduous, that took her imaginative and prescient down, that occupied her dribble. Raven’s the easiest at it.”

Johnson’s capacity to reflect McMahon’s actions and weave round screens additionally made it troublesome for Ole Miss to get McMahon going off the ball. Right here, within the second quarter, Johnson fights by means of site visitors to get a deflection on a baseline out of bounds play and forces Ole Miss to take the ball out once more within the deep nook. 

There isn’t any higher level of assault defender on this class than Johnson, and because the WNBA leans extra into spacing and 3-point capturing over the approaching years, that’s going to develop into an much more precious ability. 

“Unafraid of a problem, is prepared — she is aware of. Like, she knew she was gonna have to protect Cotie, she knew she was gonna have to protect Mikayla Blakes. She is aware of she’s gonna have to protect our opponents’ finest perimeter [players], and generally small, energy forwards,” Staley stated of Johnson’s defensive affect. “We’re unafraid to change if want be as a result of we all know Raven’s gonna give it her finest shot at defending and making it troublesome for individuals. I see it. I do not suppose she will get credit score sufficient for what she’s been doing over her profession… She does not have the numbers and the steals and the blocks that we have a look at… When you actually have a look at what makes our group go defensively, it begins and ends with Raven.”

An improved playmaker

Johnson’s perimeter protection has by no means been a secret, however there have been questions on her offense. Although she is capturing a career-high 35.2% from 3-point vary (on simply 2.4 makes an attempt per sport), she nonetheless provides little as a scorer. Johnson has made actual strides as a playmaker, although, and now appears to be like far more like a viable level guard on the subsequent degree. 

She completed with seven assists in opposition to Ole Miss and simply may have been in double figures in that class if her teammates had helped her out. 

Johnson excels in transition, as we noticed again and again Sunday. The burden of her passes have been glorious and allowed her bigs to catch the ball in stride to both go up and end or get fouled. This one within the third quarter to Alicia Tournebize stood out. 

She additionally confirmed that she may make high-level passes within the halfcourt, similar to this backdoor feed to Tessa Johnson (which ought to have been transformed) and this pocket cross to Madina Okot. 

Moreover, Johnson solely had one turnover on Sunday. She’s averaging 1.6 this season and for her profession has simply 196 turnovers in 3,485 minutes over 143 video games. Some of the spectacular stats about Johnson’s capacity to handle the ball is that she has 42 video games and not using a turnover, and she or he performed 20-plus minutes in 26 of these contests. 

Would WNBA groups prefer to see extra from Johnson offensively? Certain. Specifically, can she develop into much more constant from behind the arc to command consideration when she does not have the ball? However in an increasing league that is already missing level guard depth, Johnson’s capacity to run an offense with out making errors — mixed together with her elite protection — goes to be engaging to groups. 

“Raven Johnson is a winner,” Staley stated after South Carolina defeated LSU earlier this month. “Like, look it up within the dictionary, look it up in your iPhones, Raven Johnson is a winner. She makes performs. Successful performs… She’s most likely the one which I am going to miss essentially the most out of all of the gamers that I’ve coached.”