MANSFIELD — If Mansfield Senior’s Erica Johnson needs any pointers on how to play point guard, all she needs to do is ask her older brother.
Winthrop sophomore Keon Johnson is a pretty good resource.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Erica Johnson already has an exceptional feel for the position. The sophomore scored 43 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and handed out 11 assists as the Tygers won the Bucyrus Tip-off Classic over the weekend.
The 6-foot Johnson nearly had a triple-double in Friday’s 69-61 win over Riverdale with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. She followed that performance up with 25 points, nine boards, four assists and three blocked shots in Saturday’s 74-39 victory over Bucyrus in the title game, earning a spot on the all-tournament team (teammate Jeryn Reese was selected the Most Valuable Player).
“I thought we moved the ball pretty well, but we need to do a lot of things better,” Johnson said. “We need to communicate better on the court.
“This team has a lot of potential. We’re a lot better this year than we were my freshman year.”
Johnson averaged 10 points and 4.3 assists a game as a freshman. She was a District 6 second team pick in Division I and a Northwest District honorable mention selection as Senior High was 11-10 overall and 7-7 in Ohio Cardinal Conference play. The Tygers were ousted by Oregon Clay in their sectional opener.
“Last year’s team had good talent, but we have better chemistry this year,” Johnson said.
Does Keon Johnson, who is second on Senior High’s career scoring list with 1,279 points, have any advice for his sister?
“I just tell her to be extra aggressive on offense and defense,” said Keon, who broke Winthrop’s freshman scoring record last year with 405 points and was selected to the Big South All-Freshman team. “I tell her to lead by example.”
Erica already has begun to draw interest from Division I college programs. She has an offer from Ohio University, while Bowling Green, Toledo, Cincinnati, Iowa State and Kentucky also are courting her.
“I don’t really have a favorite,” she said. “I haven’t thought about it much yet.”
For now, she is focused on her sophomore season.
“Our goal is to improve on last year’s finish in the conference,” she said. “We were disappointed after losing in the first round of the tournament last year, so we want be playing our best at the end of the season.”
