We are profiling each member of the 2011-12 Creighton women’s basketball team. Join us weekdays from now until the women’s exhibition opener against Rockhurst for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
See all of our 2011-12 Creighton women’s basketball profiles
Taylor Johnson at Bluejay Madness
There are advantages to having older siblings experience the recruiting process. The younger siblings and their families get to go on the visits and see some things that will prepare them for their own recruitment. At an early stage in the recruiting process, Taylor Johnson knew she wanted to be a Bluejay.
A few years back, the Bluejays recruited her sister, Morgan, who eventually went to Iowa and is a junior for the Hawkeyes this season. It was during Morgan’s recruitment that Jim Flanery found out about Taylor.
“My sister was really deciding between Creighton and Iowa, so it was really a tough choice for her,” Johnson said. “But I kind of snuck in on a recruiting trip with my sister so I met all the coaches. They followed me around a little bit after that and got to like me then. That is how they got me.”
Once she went through her own recruiting process, Johnson not only looked at Creighton for the basketball program, but for preparing for her future aspirations as a nurse.
“I got along with all of the players and the coaches, which was really good. And I like the nursing program because that was what I wanted to do school wise,” she said.
Now that she is in Omaha, she’s enjoying every minute of being a Bluejay.
“I love it. All of my teammates are awesome, the coaches are awesome,” said Johnson. “Practice has been going good, so it is great.”
Johnson comes to Creighton as a two-time first-team all-state honoree in Missouri. She earned three-time first-team all-conference accolades during her days at Platte County High School in Platte City. She scored close to 1,800 points in her career, averaging 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a senior. Taylor appears to know what her role will be this season and she displays a lot of confidence heading into her freshman season.
“I feel like I am going to be off the bench to help some of the other players, and shooting three-pointers. I will be a shooting threat.”
Johnson’s outside shooting ability was evident during her high school career. She established school records for three-point field goals in a season (62) and for a career (190) at Platte County.
During these first few weeks of practice, Johnson has been used in several roles matching up against different teammates.
“I’m usually guarding McKenzie (Fujan) a lot. Or I may be covering Jordan (Garrison) or Riley (Norman). I’m just with a lot of different people,” Johson said. “We only have 10 players so we try to mix it up a bit.”
As with many incoming players, Johnson is used to winning. Her high school team won a state championship as a sophomore and won two conference championships during her career. This season she hopes to be part of another winning tradition as a Creighton Bluejay.