July 22, 2009

JUCO Guard LeeShantea Johnson Joins Women's Basketball Program

    Youngstown -- LeeShantea (Shea) Johnson has signed a financial aid agreement to continue her basketball and academic future at Youngstown State University, Penguins head coach Cindy Martin announced.

    Johnson is a 5-foot-9 guard from Midland College (Texas) who was ranked as the 92nd-best JUCO prospect in the nation by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.

    "Shea is a heck of a steal this late in the recruiting process," Martin said. "She is a strong and powerful guard that gets to the rim and plays hard on both ends of the floor.

    "Shea brings in post-season experience from her two years at Midland under coach Ron Jones, and that will help our already strong junior college class."

    Johnson averaged 8.3 points and played in all 32 games for the Chaparrals last season as a sophomore. She averaged 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals as Midland went 30-2 and finished the year ranked fifth in NJCAA Division I. The Chaparrals were upset in the semifinals of the Region 5 Championship.

    As a freshman, Johnson averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as Midland finished 31-6 and finished fifth at the NJCAA National Tournament.

    "Youngstown State has great coaches who are very concerned with their players' academics," Johnson said. "The school seems nice, and I can’t wait to give everything I have to offer both on and off the court. I am looking forward to my experience at YSU."

    Jones described Johnson as a versatile and athletic player who should do well in Coach Martin's system.

    Johnson is originally from Palatka, Fla., where she was a very accomplished player at Palatka High. As a senior, she was named second-team all-state and was the Putnam County Player of the Year. She was also a second-team all-state honoree and a nominee for Miss Florida Basketball as a junior. Johnson was a four-year all-county selection, and she was named in the Top 50 African-American Scholars.

    Johnson is the eighth student-athlete to join the women's basketball program for the 2009-10 season. Other juniors coming in are Bojana Dimitrov and Tieara Jones, and Brandi Brown, Casey Jackson, Maryum Jenkins, Kaitlin Rohrs and Melissa Thompson will be freshmen.