Shenise Johnson continues to surprise for Fever

Those who know Shenise Johnson might tell you they saw it coming. They saw potential in the girl they called “Moe-Moe,” the college woman who so desperately wanted to become great, the first-round draft pick who was so ambitious.

It’s never as inevitable as all that, though. The teenager was once kicked off the team. The college freshman was not in shape and not that skilled. The young pro chafed under a subordinate role.

Finally, the “Moe-train” is picking up speed and staying on track.

“I’ve been praying for this day, I have to say,” said her mother, Michelle Reeves.

Shenise Monet Johnson — the Moe-Moe comes from her middle name — has been perhaps the biggest surprise on an Indiana Fever team that has made a surprise run to the WNBA Finals. The best-of-five series against the Minnesota Lynx is tied 1-1 heading into Friday’s Game 3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (8 p.m., ESPN2).

Johnson’s fiery nature was manifested late in Game 2 when she ran into a hard screen, had to leave the game and slammed the scorer’s table. That action resulted in the Fever’s fourth technical foul of the Finals. In the locker room afterward, Johnson said she was OK.

Johnson, 24, a 5-11 guard, was acquired from the San Antonio Stars in a February trade for two draft picks. In the regular season, she was second on the Fever in scoring (10.9), rebounding (4.9), assists (2.4) and 3-point percentage (.413). She was second in voting for the league’s Most Improved Player.

In eight playoff games, she is averaging 11.8 points.

“I waited my whole life for this moment,” she said. “Being traded from a different team, you have a chip on your shoulder a little bit.”

She has been everything Fever executive Kelly Krauskopf thought she could be. Johnson is on a path to becoming an All-Star as soon as next season.

“And the other thing is, she is not even there yet,” Krauskopf said. “This girl can be really good. This is her first year in the WNBA to play at this level.”

Johnson was raised by a single mother in Rochester, N.Y. She was often cared for by older sister Shawntalae, also a basketball player. Johnson spent summers in Detroit with her father, Dan Johnson, a former college football player.

Johnson’s mother said her daughter was suspended from the team as an eighth-grader for involvement in a fight at school. From that moment, the mother said, Johnson stayed out of such trouble.

Johnson, in turn, said her mother has been an inspiration. Reeves worked all day and attended school at night in supporting Johnson and two siblings.

“Tenacity, determination … you never knew when she was tired,” Johnson said, “because she always had a smile on her face. I love her for that.”

Her maternal grandfather is Jerry McCullough, a bishop of Faith Temple Apostolic Church and a Rochester civil rights leader. Her grandmother is Maggie Davis McCullough, a co-pastor of that church. They are “the rock” behind the family, Johnson’s mother said.

The mother said Johnson was lazy about schoolwork until she understood where basketball could take her. She then earned “A’s and B’s overnight,” her mother said.

Johnson led Rush-Henrietta High School to three state championships, was a McDonald’s All American and New York’s 2008 Miss Basketball.

“She definitely could have been a ‘what if’ story, and thankfully she’s not,” said Steve Shepanski, her high school coach.

Johnson chose a college far from home, settling on Miami (Fla.), where she felt a connection to the coach, Katie Meier, and assistant Carolyn Kieger.

Kieger, now the Marquette head coach, was a guard at her alma mater and charged with developing backcourt players at Miami. Johnson was more power forward than guard when she took her talents to South Beach.  All she needed was to have her competitiveness channeled, Kieger said.

“She was a perfectionist in everything she did,” Kieger said. “As soon as that happened, we knew she was special.”

Kieger kept her on task: Show up at 7 a.m.  Work on ballhandling. Shoot more 3-pointers.

It was almost as if she were coaching a pro player already, Kieger recalled. The coach said she quit pushing Johnson after two years because the player was so demanding of herself.

“There’s a lot of people who make these goals. But their work habits don’t match up,” Kieger said.

After Johnson’s freshman year, she played for a USA Basketball team that won a gold medal in the under-19 World Championship. She averaged 19.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a junior, when she was Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, and had respective figures of 17.0/8.0/4.4 as a senior.

The Fever often scouted Johnson. Before they could draft her in 2012, she went as the No. 5 selection to San Antonio. Johnson averaged 11.0 points in her second year but saw minutes and productivity decline in her third year.

Given a second chance, the Fever acquired her. She has “found a rhythm in our system,” Fever coach Stephanie White said.

In her second WNBA chance, Johnson has become who everyone thought she would be. She reflected on calls, tweets and texts she has received from family, friends and mentors. Their message:

"This is what you were made for,” she said.


(indystar.com)