PHOENIX — Raven Johnson is not thinking about the draft. She has been unambiguous about that, and given everything she has invested in this program, it is entirely believable.
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought about the draft or the WNBA,” Johnson said. “I’m just thinking about winning, things that’s current. I say, whatever happens, happens. I’m just thinking about winning a national championship.”
That focus is exactly what has made her a first-round prospect. And when her South Carolina career ends this weekend in Phoenix — with a championship or in defeat — the WNBA will be ready for her whether she is thinking about it or not.
From Afterthought to First-Round Pick
A year ago, Johnson was not a prominent name in WNBA draft conversations. The talent was evident to those paying close attention, but the broader market had not fully priced her in. She noticed. Her teammate Maryam Dauda noticed her noticing.
“She knew last year, people counted her out, saying she’s not gonna get drafted,” Dauda said. “She took that personally, and she spent a lot of time this summer working on her game. It’s been showing throughout the season.”
The results of that summer work are not subtle. Johnson is posting career-high numbers across virtually every meaningful category — 10.2 points per game, 50% shooting from the field, 41.4% from three, 5.3 assists per game. Her effective field goal percentage sits at 56.7%, her true shooting at 58.8%, and her offensive win shares at 4.8. These are not incremental improvements. They represent a player who identified specific deficiencies in her game, addressed them methodically, and returned as a meaningfully better offensive player without sacrificing anything defensively.
Yahoo Sports, The Sporting News, and Tankathon all project Johnson as the number eight overall pick to the Golden State Valkyries. ESPN has not updated its mock draft since February — when Johnson was not listed — and the more comprehensive projections expected after the WNBA expansion draft and March Madness declaration deadlines will likely push her even higher in the conversation.
What the GMs Are Saying
The people whose opinions actually determine draft positions — general managers — are not waiting for the updated mock drafts to form their views. ESPN analyst Andraya Carter has been in those conversations directly.
“I’ve talked to a lot of GMs, I think of one that I was on the phone with last week, and this particular GM was like, ‘Man, I love Raven,'” Carter said. “And I’m like, yeah, how do you not love Raven? She’s a winner. Like, she’s a winner.”
Carter elaborated on what specifically has moved the needle in front offices this season.
“So there are a lot of things that I feel like coaches and GMs have seen this year from Raven,” Carter said. “She was already checking a lot of boxes, but I think checking them in a bigger, stronger way for sure. I’ve talked to a few GMs and there’s really not anything that they’re not impressed with about Raven.”
The attraction is multi-dimensional. Johnson is not being evaluated purely as a scorer or purely as a defender — she is being evaluated as a winning player, the kind who makes the people around her better and elevates the culture of any team she joins. That profile is genuinely rare and genuinely coveted at the professional level.
The Work Behind the Numbers
ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike offered a detail that cuts to the heart of why Johnson’s improvement has been so dramatic and so sustainable. During College GameDay’s visit to Columbia in February, Ogwumike witnessed something that she said told her everything she needed to know.
“It’s probably 7:30, 8 p.m. and in comes Raven — just in sweats, to come and shoot,” Ogwumike said. “That told me everything I need to know. That told me why she’s playing her best basketball right now, because she does the things that most people don’t, and she’s walked through a fire that most people can’t.”
The ACL tear as a freshman. The long rehabilitation. The years of being the program’s best defender while others received more offensive attention. The summer of deliberate, unacknowledged work after being overlooked in draft projections. All of it accumulates into a player who arrives at the biggest moments of her career with something to prove and the habits to prove it.
Defense Was Never the Question
While the offensive evolution has generated most of the discussion, Johnson’s defensive excellence was never in doubt — and it remains the foundation everything else is built on. She was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year this season, averaging 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks with a defensive box plus-minus of 7.6. She has spent five years at South Carolina taking the opponent’s best offensive player as her primary assignment, and she has done it every night without complaint.
Ogwumike sees that defensive identity as a primary selling point for WNBA teams evaluating what Johnson brings.
“I think many teams are looking at her, seeing how she leads, how she can play,” Ogwumike said. “She can attract talent, but also how she can play with great posts. She can lead a team, and she just continues to exceed expectations. I’m excited for her.”
One Game at a Time
None of this matters to Johnson right now, and that is precisely the point. The draft is April 13. South Carolina plays UConn on April 3. For Johnson, the sequencing is simple — finish what she started in Columbia before thinking about what comes next.
Her career with the Gamecocks ends this weekend. What it ends with is still to be determined. But what comes after it — a professional career that WNBA general managers are already anticipating — is no longer in any doubt.
She counted her out. She took it personally. Now everyone is watching.
