Kymora Johnson talks sophomore campaign and promising future for Virginia – The Cavalier Daily

Exactly as advertised, sophomore guard Kymora Johnson started her freshman season last year. A former five-star recruit has the talent to take Virginia back to the glory days of the 1990s. Johnson earned Second Team All-ACC honors and a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team; he also led Virginia in points, assists, steals and minutes played per game. It would take too long to list all of the extensive accolades he has received, and it is clear that he is ready to continue his impressive college career by leading the team to new heights in 2024-25.

The Cavaliers had a season full of promising highs and frustrating lows in their freshman campaign. Virginia compiled a 16-16 record last year — which was certainly a promising improvement over the past few seasons — but many of those 16 losses were embarrassing blowouts.

On a positive note, the regular season finale was a win for the ages; an 80-75 victory over then-No. 5Virginia Tech. After this victory, Virginia appeared to have strong momentum heading into the ACC Tournament.

Instead the Cavaliers flared up in a frustrating upset loss To Wake Forest in the first round just three days later. Virginia continued earning After playing a single game in the NIT, the season ended on a quiet note. beat At Villanova.

For the sixth straight year, the Cavaliers missed out on a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. Still, winning half the games and showing significant signs of improvement has made the season a success, with Johnson at the heart of this, as coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton continues to build the foundations of a winning programme.

Johnson and his team aim for very rapid development in the 2024-25 season. A few positive developments are returning; Johnson’s scoring ability became the engine of Virginia’s offense, scoring 15.3 points per game last year. This was his best asset as a rookie, and it’s no surprise to see him knock down three-pointers with ease. What’s more interesting is the rest of his game.

Distributing the ball is an important part of the point guard role. After all, a player can only take so many shots, and Johnson consciously tried to improve himself as a facilitator.

“That was definitely something I worked on this summer,” Johnson said. “I’m trying to focus on passing the ball and getting control right, things like that.”

Another hot topic was defense, which was a very weak point for the Cavaliers last year. Virginia lost by more than 80 points seven times last season. This is not the recipe for victory. Although Johnson is a talented defender and is not the main culprit of sloppy team defense, he has made a notable effort to improve his defensive abilities this offseason.

“It’s very difficult to come to college and be able to defend 94 feet,” Johnson said. “I struggled with it a little bit last year, but I’m excited to see what I do this year.”

Then there is another element; While Johnson has always been the leader of Virginia’s offense, he is now starting to take part in the locker room as well. Gone are show mainstays Sam Brunelle, London Clarkson, Alexia Smith and Camryn Taylor. Only junior guard Yonta Vaughn played longer with the Cavaliers than Johnson. Although the young superstar is only in his second year, he is currently the undisputed leader of this team.

While half of his teammates are new to the team, Johnson is confident these promising additions will make a significant impact in Virginia’s quest to build a strong program.

“I love them (the new additions), all of them,” Johnson said. “The freshmen, you know, the super seniors, they were great. “We had great chemistry and (fans) should be excited to watch some good basketball.”

Johnson and the Cavaliers will start with the Blue-White scrimmage on Oct. 5, followed by an exhibition game before the home opener against the United States on Nov. 4. The conference’s full slate has not yet been released, but several percent of ranked ACC teams will be in the running for Virginia this year.

Despite a challenging schedule, this team is definitely improving, and at a fast pace. The women’s basketball program broke the single-game attendance record with 11,975 fans in its huge home win over the Hokies last season. Johnson’s rise to stardom and the simultaneous evolution of the program are leading to an exciting and rapid increase in fan engagement.

Although he modestly denied the honor, Johnson is the most talented star this program has had in a while. It’s too early to tell how the Cavaliers will perform this year, but expect Johnson to dominate as the season quickly approaches. And in turn, Virginia could surprise on the national level this season.