It isn’t every single day you see a sitting U.S. governor stroll right into a highschool fitness center and fee a scholar as a state Colonel. Effectively, that is precisely how issues performed out on Thursday for Sacred Coronary heart Academy star ZaKiyah Johnson.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear made a particular go to to honour the basketball phenom, declaring her a Kentucky Colonel in recognition of her exceptional achievements on and off the court docket.
As introduced in a put up on Sacred Coronary heart Academy’s official Instagram web page, Beshear paid a particular go to to the college on Thursday, extra particularly, to the Valkyries basketball workforce.
The put up featured Johnson proudly holding her commissioning certificates alongside the Governor. It additionally included eight different pictures capturing memorable moments from the day, together with the Governor’s assembly with the workforce and coach Donna Moir, posing beside the college’s state championship trophies, and so forth.
The put up’s caption learn:
“So this occurred as we speak! KY Governor Andy Beshear visited SHA to honor and fee our ZaKiyah Johnson as a Kentucky Colonel, saying ‘she introduced satisfaction to our state!’ We could not agree extra. Z accepted the distinction together with her teammates, Coach Donna Moir, Dr. Adams, Dr. McNay, Ms. Wentzel and naturally, her mother. Governor Beshear requested her to all the time keep in mind the place she got here from and we all know she’s going to.”
Sacred Hearts Academy received the State Championship and completed first within the Kentucky Part District 27 Basketball league with a formidable 35-3 document. Johnson’s efficiency was particularly essential to the workforce’s success, as she averaged 21.3 factors, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a couple of.4 steals per recreation.
Following a profitable highschool profession, she is heading to the LSU Tigers within the Southeastern Convention subsequent season. She will probably be joined by different extremely rated prospects, together with Grace Knox, Divine Bourrage and Bella Hines.
Revisiting Zakiyah Johnson’s highschool basketball profession
5-star prospect ZaKiyah Johnson wrapped up her highschool basketball journey because the No. 10-ranked participant within the nation. The guard started and ended her profession with the Sacred Coronary heart Academy Valkyries.
Johnson’s first yr with the Valkyries resulted in a state championship, first place within the Kentucky Part District 27 Basketball League, and a 36-3 general document. She completed the season averaging 17.8 factors, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per recreation.
As a sophomore, she averaged 22.4 factors, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a couple of.0 steals per recreation. It was a repeat of the earlier yr’s dominance, capturing the state championship, the District 27 title, and ending the season with an an identical 36-3 document.
The Valkyries received all of it the subsequent season, Johnson’s junior yr. She averaged 18.9 factors, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a couple of.1 steals per recreation, main the workforce to a 31-7 document.
When it comes to private accolades, Johnson is a four-time Kentucky Gatorade Participant of the 12 months, a four-time KHSAA State Championship MVP, a Kentucky Miss Basketball winner and a McDonald’s All-American.
There is definitely a robust case to be made for ZaKiyah Johnson having some of the profitable highschool careers within the historical past of the game.
alt=”Inioluwa” peak=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by Krutik Jain