Raven Johnson used her fifth and final season with the South Carolina Gamecocks to vastly boost her draft stock. After she finished the 2024-25 season unhappy with her production, she went to work and showed the world that she was a talented scorer as well as a prolific floor general.
After South Carolina’s latest win over LSU, Johnson was asked what exactly she hadn’t been happy with. “Just go look on Twitter,” Johnson responded. “You go look on Twitter. It tells you everything.”
Dawn Staley quickly jumped in, saying, “Raven wanted to fix her production…the basketball think tankers, they want to see her score, right? She’s already playmaking. She did all the things that contribute to winning besides scoring, and young people are really almost actually bullied on social media to get better. If you don’t have your head on straight, and if you don’t have people who support you, to tell you your worth, you’ll let strangers dictate who you are and how you feel each and every day.”
Players have to navigate an often toxic social media landscape
The women’s game is more popular than ever. That has created new opportunities for women on and off the court. At the same time, however, it has also led to negative attention from social media trolls, who don’t just critique players’ game but also attack them personally. Misogyny, racism, and homophobia quickly took over many women’s basketball spaces on social media.
When Staley used the word “bullied” she wasn’t exaggerating. She also isn’t the first person to call it what it is. Angel Reese, for example, sells MeBounds merch and donates the profit to a charity that fights cyberbullying.
For Raven Johnson, the determination to prove her online haters wrong translated to the best season of her college career. That, however, doesn’t mean that dealing with all those negative social media comments didn’t take a toll on her mental health.
If there is one thing people should never forget, it’s that these athletes are people first and basketball players second. Yes, they perform for fans’ entertainment, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings.
Raven Johnson played an outstanding game against LSU
Johnson scored 22 points on 9-14 shooting against LSU. That was her highest scoring output of the season. MiLaysia Fulwiley was the only player to score more in the game.
Johnson does so much more than just score, though. She also recorded a game-high eight assists while only turning the ball over once.
On top of that, Johnson is a great defender and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year.