Tonia Witt/Rise Up Sports
Sacred Heart star ZaKiyah Johnson committed to play her college basketball at LSU Sunday over Kentucky and Louisville, her other two finalists.
Johnson is considered by many to be the top prospect in Kentucky girls basketball history. The 6-0 guard is a five-star prospect and ranked No. 12 in her recruiting class by ESPN. She has helped Sacred Heart win three state titles in her three seasons and averaged 18.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game last season for the Valkyries.
She was named most valuable player in the last three state tournaments and was named Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year three straight seasons. Johnson played for USA Basketball in the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup in Colombia last summer and won a gold medal.
She had a scholarship offer from almost all of the nations top programs including South Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia, Notre Dame, Mississippi State,Ohio State, Southern California, UCLA and UConn.
She played at Shelby County her seventh- and eight-grade seasons before transferring to Sacred Heart. She has amassed 3,065 points and 1,282 rebounds in five varsity seasons.
While it would have been a huge deal if new UK coach Kenny Brooks had been able to sign Johnson — who made an official visit to UK on Sept. 20 — just being in her final three was a huge feat for him considering Kentucky was not on her radar when he got the job in the spring. Brooks and his staff recruited her immediately and to be in the final three with hometown Louisville and national power LSU shows how persuasive he can be.
Johnson is one of four high profile seniors in Kentucky this year. Leah Macy of Bethlehem, who played on Team USA with Johnson, committed to Notre Dame. Danville Christian Academy 6-5 center Grace Mbugua picked Louisville over Kentucky and LSU. George Rogers Clark’s Ciara Byars recently committed to Michigan.
One Response
No pen to paper as yet – need to not give up – gotta be a way in todays world.