Indiana Fever HC Stephanie White is the latest to highlight Raven Johnson's defensive abilities during the training camp.

The Fever drafted Johnson as the 10th overall pick, and White expressed enthusiasm for the pick.

White added praise for Johnson during the training camp on April 21st. “Well, I mean, certainly, what we knew is that she’s a bear on the defensive end of the floor. You know, she’s got great active hands. You know, she doesn’t seem to get in mismatched situations because of her activity level on the defensive end." The Fever HC said.

Johnson showed appreciation for her coach's comments by posting the video on her Instagram story with a short reaction. “❤️🤞🏾” Johnson captioned her post.

The Fever, using their first-round pick on Johnson, showed how highly they think of the 23-year-old's talents. Johnson will now have to prove her worth to a team filled with guard talent alongside Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, and others.

A two-time NCAA champion, Johnson averaged 9.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 triples per game with South Carolina in her final season. She also won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and AP All-American honors.

While the Fever already has established offensive stars at their disposal with the likes of Clark and Mitchell, White can turn to Johnson to handle any defensive issues on the other side of the floor.

“I'm like a gnat on a ball every time,” Johnson said at Fever training camp Monday morning.

As the training camp continues, HC White was not the only one impressed with Johnson, who has found another fan in Sophie Cunningham.

Sophie Cunningham Endorses Raven Johnson on Her Podcast

Raven Johnson has already started to gel with her new teammates in training camp, and Sophie Cunningham might be the one to have the most liking for the rookie.

In her April 20th Show Me Something podcast episode, Cunningham described Johnson with a word she herself is most associated with, calling her a "dawg."

"We had our first day of training camp, and I just like love her. I think she's going to be fantastic, a great defensive player. Just a really sweet girl and a great teammate so far," she continued.

The term "dawg" is how White and Cunningham's teammates describe her.

Johnson is likely to be a backup to Clark and Mitchell for the Fever. She will provide the team with key defensive play, something they lacked in their semifinal loss last postseason.

So, do you think Raven Johnson's early impression on her new team can lead to her earning a starting spot from HC Stephanie White in the upcoming season?

Read more at She Got Game!

Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Siddharth Rawat