Niya Johnson’s next goal after winning the state title is to bring her physical conditioning up to the same high level as her skills.
The Nazareth junior girls’ basketball star knows college coaches have questioned commitment to the game because of her fitness, and realized this season how much more she will help the Lady Kingsmen if she improves, according to her coach.
“She has been getting some words from some coaches,” Nazareth coach Ron Kelley said. “She can go faster. She can play harder.”
The need for a change became clear even in the best season of Johnson’s career. She became Nazareth’s unquestioned leader after the graduation of five seniors who went on to play Division I basketball. She was the most valuable player when the Lady Kingsmen won the state Federation Class A tile in Albany in March. Still, Johnson knew she wasn’t playing her best.
“I knew when the ball bounced in front of me I was so tired,” she said. “I was stuck to the ground. I knew if I was in better shape I would be able to go grab it.”
Johnson vowed to do better the minute the final buzzer sounded at UAlbany, telling Kelley she planned to hit the gym. As her final travel ball season with Exodus gets set to start, she wants to lose weight, tone up, and joking added she’d like to grow two inches as well.
“It made me want to change my body because I do love the game a lot,” the 5-foot-10 Johnson said. “I want to show the college coaches that I can do it.”
There are plenty of college coaches who love her game, despite the naysayers. Johnson is prolific scorer, having already reached the 1,000-point mark after three seasons. Johnson tallied 25 points in a win over Cardinal Spellman in the Catholic High School Athletic Association Class AA semifinals.
Johnson has scholarship offers from Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, George Washington, Wake Forest, Rutgers, and Virginia Commonwealth. She also has interest from Vanderbilt. Kelley believes she has plenty more to show the coaches. Getting in better shape will only bring the other aspects of her game to the forefront.
“I think the sky is the limit for her,” he said. “She can score 30 now, but I think it’s defense. It’s running hard. It is cutting. It’s all the little details the college coaches are looking for.”
Johnson’s added motivation is that she wants this upcoming summer and season to be her best. She is the last big-time player brought to Exodus by its former leader and coach Apache Paschall, who died of a heart attack in 2012. Johnson wants to add her name to the list of great guards to come through the program, like Bianca Cuevas, Jen O’Neill, Brianna Butler and Sammy Prahalis before her.
She wants to go out on at the top of her game and it the best possible condition.
“I believe I am going to feel lighter on my feet, and I am going to be able to do more than what I can do now,” Johnson said. “I am going to be able to do everything I am doing now much better.”
