Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Johnson embracing next chapter
3/13/2019 5:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Stellar career winding to a close
FRISCO, Texas – Once Middle Tennessee is done with the Conference USA Tournament and whichever postseason tournament comes its way, the college career of one of Murfreesboro's all-time great athletes will be complete.
Basketball fans in Murfreesboro have known the name Alex Johnson for years, from long before she stepped onto MT's campus as a freshman and even before she starred at local Blackman High School.
The 22-year-old has spent countless nights wowing Murfreesboro crowds with her furocious post presence, all the while keeping a bright smile that fans will remember long after she's gone from her hometown school.
"I got to leave my legacy here," Johnson said. "Wherever my career path leads me, it's just a great feeling knowing I have the support from outsiders in the community who you don't even know."
Blackman beginnings
The local legend of Alex Johnson really started while she was at Blackman High School.
As a junior, she helped the team to a 34-1 record and state title, and the Blaze were named national champions by USA TODAY, MaxPreps and ESPN. It was the second national championship in a row for a Murfreesboro school after Riverdale accomplished the feat the season prior, led by Johnson's future MT teammates Ty Petty and Olivia Jones.
Johnson led Blackman to a second straight state championship and 32-2 record as a senior, becoming the school's all-time rebounding leader and a member of the 1,000-point club. She was nominated as a McDonald's All-American and had offers from Power 5 conference schools in the SEC and ACC, but chose instead to stay home.
"Being in my hometown means a lot," Johnson said. "A lot of the same people followed me from high school when I came to college, and getting to see those familiar faces, that's part of what made my decision easy."
Dominance continued
The Murphy Center floor had become almost a second home to Johnson by the time she walked onto campus as a freshman in 2015, and she played like it.
She was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, starting all but one game and scoring in double figures 21 times, including 19 of the last 21 games.
Her brilliant play helped the Lady Raiders to a 24-9 overall record and trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Florida State in the first round. They captured both the C-USA regular-season and tournament titles.
"That was an incredible experience," Johnson said. "To be able to go to the NCAA Tournament and experience that with my teammates, that's something that I'll always remember."
Johnson's stellar freshman year carried over to her sophomore season, when she finished fifth on the program's single-season scoring list with 687 points and became just the third sophomore in program history to achieve 1,000 points in her first two seasons.
She was primed to build on her First Team All-C-USA nod and was named the league's preseason player of the year as a junior, but a setback derailed her plans.
Just five minutes into the season opener against Vanderbilt, Johnson went down underneath the basket on the defensive end with a foot injury. It would end up forcing her to miss 11 games.
Middle Tennessee finished just 18-13, its lowest win total under head coach Rick Insell, and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
"That was definitely a rough time, and I don't talk about it much," Johnson said. "Never in a million years did I think I would go out in the season's first couple of possessions."
Focused renewed
With the injury behind her, Johnson set out to make her senior season memorable with a group of her best friends.
Since they were freshmen in 2015, Johnson, Katie Collier, Jess Louro and Jordan Majors have lived together and built a fierce friendship on and off the court. Those relationships were a big help while Johnson was coming back from her foot ailment.
"It's been the four of us since Day 1," Johnson said. "We've been each other's ride or die … not being able to live with them, I don't know what I'm going to do. I couldn't have made it this far without their support and their motivation."
Johnson hit the hardwood this season with a renewed focus on getting her Lady Raiders back to the NCAA Tournament. She also came to play with a new weapon: a 3-point shot.
In her fourth all-conference campaign, Johnson has averaged 15.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and her 30 made 3-pointers are 10 more than she made in her first three years combined. She's also crept into the top 10 of several program career records, including points (ninth), field goals made and percentage, and free throws made and percentage.
"She's shown a great deal of leadership and toughness coming back this season like she has," Insell said. "But, that's just classic Alex Johnson. She's been a joy to coach the last four years, and I'd do it all over again."
The Lady Raiders (20-9) are the three seed in the Conference USA Tournament, which begins on Thursday with a matchup against UTEP.
With only a limited number of games left in her college career, the remaining few will be some of the most cherished for Johnson.
It isn't just her time playing basketball at Middle Tennessee that's ending, it's also the end of playing in front of her hometown fans. Sure, she'll likely have a career in the WNBA or overseas, but her playing career in the 'Boro has been a long chapter in her life, and turning that chapter is a bittersweet feeling.
Winning another C-USA crown sure would help sweeten it.
"That's in God's hands," she said. "We're sure going to fight as hard as we can and give all that we can."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Basketball fans in Murfreesboro have known the name Alex Johnson for years, from long before she stepped onto MT's campus as a freshman and even before she starred at local Blackman High School.
The 22-year-old has spent countless nights wowing Murfreesboro crowds with her furocious post presence, all the while keeping a bright smile that fans will remember long after she's gone from her hometown school.
"I got to leave my legacy here," Johnson said. "Wherever my career path leads me, it's just a great feeling knowing I have the support from outsiders in the community who you don't even know."
Blackman beginnings
The local legend of Alex Johnson really started while she was at Blackman High School.
As a junior, she helped the team to a 34-1 record and state title, and the Blaze were named national champions by USA TODAY, MaxPreps and ESPN. It was the second national championship in a row for a Murfreesboro school after Riverdale accomplished the feat the season prior, led by Johnson's future MT teammates Ty Petty and Olivia Jones.
Johnson led Blackman to a second straight state championship and 32-2 record as a senior, becoming the school's all-time rebounding leader and a member of the 1,000-point club. She was nominated as a McDonald's All-American and had offers from Power 5 conference schools in the SEC and ACC, but chose instead to stay home.
"Being in my hometown means a lot," Johnson said. "A lot of the same people followed me from high school when I came to college, and getting to see those familiar faces, that's part of what made my decision easy."
Dominance continued
The Murphy Center floor had become almost a second home to Johnson by the time she walked onto campus as a freshman in 2015, and she played like it.
She was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, starting all but one game and scoring in double figures 21 times, including 19 of the last 21 games.
Her brilliant play helped the Lady Raiders to a 24-9 overall record and trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Florida State in the first round. They captured both the C-USA regular-season and tournament titles.
"That was an incredible experience," Johnson said. "To be able to go to the NCAA Tournament and experience that with my teammates, that's something that I'll always remember."
Johnson's stellar freshman year carried over to her sophomore season, when she finished fifth on the program's single-season scoring list with 687 points and became just the third sophomore in program history to achieve 1,000 points in her first two seasons.
She was primed to build on her First Team All-C-USA nod and was named the league's preseason player of the year as a junior, but a setback derailed her plans.
Just five minutes into the season opener against Vanderbilt, Johnson went down underneath the basket on the defensive end with a foot injury. It would end up forcing her to miss 11 games.
Middle Tennessee finished just 18-13, its lowest win total under head coach Rick Insell, and missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
"That was definitely a rough time, and I don't talk about it much," Johnson said. "Never in a million years did I think I would go out in the season's first couple of possessions."
Focused renewed
With the injury behind her, Johnson set out to make her senior season memorable with a group of her best friends.
Since they were freshmen in 2015, Johnson, Katie Collier, Jess Louro and Jordan Majors have lived together and built a fierce friendship on and off the court. Those relationships were a big help while Johnson was coming back from her foot ailment.
"It's been the four of us since Day 1," Johnson said. "We've been each other's ride or die … not being able to live with them, I don't know what I'm going to do. I couldn't have made it this far without their support and their motivation."
Johnson hit the hardwood this season with a renewed focus on getting her Lady Raiders back to the NCAA Tournament. She also came to play with a new weapon: a 3-point shot.
In her fourth all-conference campaign, Johnson has averaged 15.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, and her 30 made 3-pointers are 10 more than she made in her first three years combined. She's also crept into the top 10 of several program career records, including points (ninth), field goals made and percentage, and free throws made and percentage.
"She's shown a great deal of leadership and toughness coming back this season like she has," Insell said. "But, that's just classic Alex Johnson. She's been a joy to coach the last four years, and I'd do it all over again."
The Lady Raiders (20-9) are the three seed in the Conference USA Tournament, which begins on Thursday with a matchup against UTEP.
With only a limited number of games left in her college career, the remaining few will be some of the most cherished for Johnson.
It isn't just her time playing basketball at Middle Tennessee that's ending, it's also the end of playing in front of her hometown fans. Sure, she'll likely have a career in the WNBA or overseas, but her playing career in the 'Boro has been a long chapter in her life, and turning that chapter is a bittersweet feeling.
Winning another C-USA crown sure would help sweeten it.
"That's in God's hands," she said. "We're sure going to fight as hard as we can and give all that we can."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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