With a well-placed source stating that Michala Johnson went about narrowing her list of schools and that UConn and Georgia have emerged as the two leaders, I figured it was time to do a little more research on the 6-foot-3 junior from Montini Catholic High in Lombard, Ill.

With Montini's junior season ending five minutes after it started after she reinjured the knee which she first hurt over the summer, I decided to look back at Johnson's first two years of high school.

As a sophomore she averaged 18.3 points (on 65.5 percent shooting) and hauled down 11.1 rebounds per game. The most impressive statistical item I picked up on was that she was the leading scorer 25 times and leading rebounder 29 times in 32 games. That tells me that she brings it each and every game.

As a freshman, Johnson was named the Suburban Catholic Conference Player of the Year after averaging 19.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. I ran across a story in the Addison Press which not only spoke of her achievements during her freshman season but also included quotes from Montini Catholic coach Jason Nichols which made me think Johnson may have what DePaul coach Doug Bruno terms "that UConn ilk."

“I marveled at her consistency,” Nichols said. “Every time you looked up, she was at 20 points and double-digit rebounds. You saw it every night and she did it against top players.”

“I’ve coached a lot of kids and she is one kid that has never smarted back to me,” Nichols said. “She has never given me a weird look or some attitude.
“She is unbelievable when it comes to being coached. She is a wonderful kid and that is what makes her so special.”

Johnson is currently recovering from surgery and will miss the AAU season. Johnson may return for some exposure tournaments in the fall, not so much to be seen by college coaches but just to shake some of the rust off.

With the mother of Arundel High of Gambrills, Md. Sheronne Vails saying in an e-mail to the Register that she didn't think her daughter was a priority in UConn's recruiting efforts and Orsi Szecsi, a forward from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., not expecting to make any campus visits until next fall according to her Oak Hill coach, it would seem as if Johnson is emerging at the top target to join Stefanie Dolson of Minisink Valley as post players in UConn's next recruiting class. If UConn coach Geno Auriemma is able to secure commitments from Johnson and Laguna Hills (Calif.) wing Lauren Engeln to go with Dolson and Samarie Walker out of Chaminade Julienne in Dayton, Ohio, this could potentially go down as one of UConn's best recruiting classes.

Last I've heard, UConn was hoping to sign four players and that would be a pretty impressive group of four. Of course, there is plenty of time for all of this to play out. Speaking of Engeln, I asked a recruiting source who is recruiting Engeln and the response was "who isn't? Everybody's looking at her."

Speaking of Walker, her team has a big game tonight against Beavercreek. The showdown between Walker and Stanford signee Mikaela Ruef should be worth the price of admission.