Four-star guard Tessa Johnson breaks down decision to join South Carolina

When Tessa Johnson visited the University of South Carolina in September, she felt liked she fit right in.

Johnson, a senior at St. Michael-Albertville High School, committed Wednesday to play for the USC women’s basketball team. The four-star guard is listed by ESPN as the best player in Minnesota.

While she considered Baylor and the home-state Minnesota Golden Gophers, she ultimately sided with the Gamecocks.

“When I got there, they acted like I was a part of the team,” Johnson told The State. “The coaches did and the players did.”

She remembers some of her first interactions with the team, including her first call with coach Dawn Staley and meeting some of the players in practice.

During a USC practice on Johnson’s first campus visit, Aliyah Boston sat down with her to teach her some of the plays they were running and why they were running them.

“The community is so loyal and loving,” Johnson said. “It’s like a family down there.”

Johnson will come to the Palmetto State as a player who can space the floor. She considers herself a shooting guard with the ability to bring the ball up the court when needed.

She averaged 23.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game in her junior year with the Knights, and scored the 1,000th point of her career in December 2021.

Her high school head coach, Kent Hamre, raved about her abilities and basketball IQ.

“She sees things before it happens,” Hamre said. “When they take away something, she’s going to go to a different weapon. Offensively, she can stretch the floor, she can get to the rim and she can find players.”

Johnson isn’t afraid to defend players in the post or on the perimeter, Hamre said, and the 5-foot-10 guard can play any position.

He also commended her leadership abilities, adding that her future USC teammates will enjoy being around her.

“She is a role model to all of our young kids,” Hamre said. “Everybody looks up to her. Her teammates look up to her.”

Johnson has played basketball since the age of 3. Her dad introduced her to the sport, she said, and it continues to bring her joy.

“When I’m on the court, it’s like everything else in my life is good,” Johnson said. “The court just brings me peace and comfort.”

Johnson is a two-sport athlete at St. Michael-Albertville. She’s an outside hitter on the volleyball team and played a game for that program the night before Tuesday’s college announcement.

With basketball season starting soon, she hopes to help the Knights win a state championship. The team fell short of that goal last season.

“I know all the girls are committed to play,” Johnson said. “We know we can get there and the plan is to win state. We all know what it takes to get there, and we’re all going to do it.”

Johnson will join a Gamecock team with many forwards and post players, with senior guard Zia Cooke likely to depart for the WNBA after the season.

The Gamecocks have two true freshmen on the team this year — Ashlyn Watkins and Talaysia Cooper — and landed four-star wing Sahnya Jah last week.

With the team’s seniors set to depart after the season, Johnson will be part of the Gamecocks’ young core moving forward.

“I know Coach Staley is going to help me expand my game,” Johnson said.