SACRAMENTO, Calif. – If you made a Venn diagram to compare TCU’s Olivia Miles and South Carolina’s Raven Johnson, their separate circles would fill up rapidly.
Miles is known for her flash. Johnson for her smarts. Miles has been a star from the moment she arrived on the college basketball scene. Johnson was often thought of as a background character. Miles is in her first season as a Horned Frog after transferring from Notre Dame. Johnson has been loyal to the Gamecocks, spending five years on campus.
But the middle section of the diagram holds the most important piece of information about each player.
“They’re two of the best point guards in college basketball,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “They’re both old veterans that have been doing this at an elite level. They go about their games and they go about impacting winning differently, but they’re both incredible at what they do.”
When freshman forward Alicia Tournebize arrived at South Carolina in January, she didn’t know what to expect. She had long dreamed of playing in college in the United States, but her recruitment and arrival from France was a whirlwind. Luckily, she had Johnson to help her acclimate.
“Raven was so nice from the beginning,” Tournebize said. “She really took care of me.”
Johnson has become an ambassador for the Gamecocks over the last few seasons. She helped recruit former AAU teammate Kamilla Cardoso out of the transfer portal, and this season, aided in landing Ta’Niya Latson, who she played with in high school.
“I can’t imagine South Carolina without her,” teammate Adhel Tac said. “She’s been such a big part of this program.”
When you think of Johnson, you picture “Gamecocks” written across her chest. For Miles, it’s another team’s jersey that probably comes to mind. She spent the first three seasons of her career at Notre Dame, racking up accolades and plenty of postseason highlights before coming to TCU for her senior campaign. But when she arrived, her leadership was instant.
“Coming in with a lot of transfers, you have to build that chemistry quickly,” said TCU senior Kennedy Basham, who joined the program from Arizona State. “Olivia realized that right away and was able to build that bond with the team.”
They both have their teams in the Elite Eight, and on Monday, they will face off for a spot in the Final Four. Johnson will likely be tasked with guarding Miles, so fans will get to see them battle on at least one end of the court.
South Carolina’s sophomore backup point guard, Maddy McDaniel, knows exactly what Miles is in for. She plays against Johnson every day in practice.
“It’s crazy,” McDaniel said. “Being guarded by her is just this nonstop aggression. It’s something that you almost can’t compete against.”
Except, maybe, if you are Miles. Few have been able to slow her down this season, and while Johnson will be the primary defender, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley says her team will have to play defense by committee.
Miles’ creativity, both off the dribble and passing the ball, is particularly difficult to defend.
“You can’t teach someone what she sees in the way she processes and how quickly she’s able to do it,” Campbell said. “Male or female, there’s like half a dozen people in the world that have vision, that can process it that quickly, that can throw a one-handed bounce pass to the opposite corner, off the dribble, on a laser and then do it with their left hand. It’s truly incredible.”
Miles is also known as a scorer, putting up 19.6 points per game to go with her 6.6 assists. Meanwhile, Johnson is better known for her defense and as a pass-first point guard, averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 assists.
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But just because she doesn’t score 20 points a game, doesn’t mean she can’t. Johnson simply does what South Carolina needs, when they need it. In a Sweet Sixteen win over Oklahoma, Johnson finished with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
“When you are a consummate point guard, when your intellect for the game is way above average, you activate,” Staley said.” That’s what Raven’s been doing, just activating what needs to get done.”
Now, Johnson and Miles will both try to activate their teams into the Final Four. And as they do, fans will see what Campbell and Staley already know: The two point guards are different, but also very much the same.
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