“You must be passionate, you must dedicate yourself, and you must be relentless in the pursuit of your goals. If you do, you will be successful.”
— a tweet by Mississippi State women’s basketball transfer Roshunda Johnson on May 27
STARKVILLE — Roshunda Johnson knows the power of social media.
That knowledge was part of her motivation for the tweet that served as her unofficial welcome announcement to the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.
On Tuesday, Johnson and MSU’s other four newcomers had their first chances as a group to speak with members of the media at Mize Pavilion at Humphrey Coliseum. Johnson, 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan, 6-3 center Zion Campbell, 5-8 guard Jazz Holmes, and 6-foot forward Jazmine Spears are all enrolled in the first session of summer school in an effort to ease the transition in their first school year as Bulldogs.
The adjustment period figures to be a little easier for Johnson, who averaged 11.3 points as a sophomore for Oklahoma State. In her first season at OSU, Johnson earned Big 12 Conference All-Freshman Team honors. She averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 steals in her two seasons, and helped the squad to the NCAA tournament both years.
“Even though I am going to have to sit out a year, I still have to be passionate about the game,” Johnson said. “I still have to act like I am still playing this year, which is why I sent out that tweet.”
In April, the 5-7 guard from Little Rock, Arkansas, announced she was going to transfer after two years at OSU. Less than two weeks later, Johnson selected MSU and joined McCowan as the latest additions to coach Vic Schaefer’s program.
While McCowan, a Parade All-American, will be able to play with the Bulldogs in the 2015-16 season, Johnson will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. She will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Even though she won’t be able to play in games, Johnson will provide valuable leadership and competition in practice for sophomore point guard Morgan William and Holmes, a standout at Harrison Central High School.
“I just look at it as if I am on the sidelines, just like at practice, and everybody else is doing their thing,” Johnson said. “At the same time, I am still working on what they work on so when it is my time I know what to do.”
A starter in 31 of 32 games last season, she finished as OSU’s third-leading scorer behind 35.3-percent shooting from the field, 39.3-percent shooting from 3-point range, and a 77.5-percent clip from the free-throw line.
Coming out of Parkview High School, Johnson was rated the 38th-best player in the nation by All-Star Girls Report and 46th by Premier Basketball Report. She also was ranked the 49th-best player in her class by ESPN and No. 45 by Full Court after earning 6A All-State honors her junior and senior seasons.
Johnson understands a lot will be expected of her as a redshirt junior, even if she won’t see game action. She said she is eager for the challenge of playing in a system that values and encourages stifling defensive play. In fact, Johnson said she relishes the opportunity to harass opponents 94 feet and to “get after it” for 40 minutes. She said it has been fun playing with another quick player like William. She laughed when asked who was quicker before saying William “probably” was a little quicker.
Schaefer said Johnson will play a valuable role considering MSU will have to replace the leadership of point guard Jerica James, who graduated following the 2014-15 season. James and William split time at point guard and helped lead MSU to a program-record 27 victories, including a school-best 11 in the Southeastern Conference. MSU’s season ended with a 64-56 loss to Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Durham, North Carolina.
“Ro will have to sit, but I think (William and Holmes) have already seen what Ro brings to the table,” Schaefer said. “Ro will have that every day in practice. I think Morgan took a step back yesterday and realized, ‘Hey, she is fast coach. That is three of us that can really get up and down.’ She had to take a step back off of Ro a little bit because Ro is really quick and has that good first step. I think there is tremendous competitiveness within this group.”
Schaefer likes the potential of his latest class. He said all five players have been involved with the program’s basketball camps and have been working out with new strength and conditioning coach David Deets.
Schaefer hopes McCowan will provide depth in the post with 6-5 junior Chinwe Okorie, while Spears will provide a perimeter/post threat that will enable the Bulldogs to shift rising junior Breanna Richardson to a three, small forward, if needed.
In the backcourt, the hope is Johnson will offer a steady hand that will offer consistent competition to her younger teammates. She smiled and said she didn’t feel like an “old lady” compared to underclassmen like William and Holmes. But she also acknowledged she isn’t going to allow the fact that she will have to sit out this season stop her from making an impression.
Actually, Johnson already has done that, as evidenced by MSU associate head coach Johnnie Harris’ tweet in response to Johnson’s tweet: “I can’t wait to coach this young lady!!”
At MSU, Johnson will make her impact wearing No. 25, which is a change from the No. 00 she wore at OSU. She also will continue to tweet uplifting messages and encouraging words to her friends and teammates.
“I am working on being the leader I know I can be and being a leader from where I ended up last year to becoming better this year,” Johnson said. “I want to be a leader and to cheer my teammates and let them know I am still here by their side.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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