Warrior earns top honor

WASILLA — For the past two seasons, Jeannie Hebert-Truax has said Wasilla standout Jenna Johnson is, without question, the top player in the state.

Now Johnson has some hardware to go along her coach’s belief.

Johnson has been named the Gatorade Alaska Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Hebert-Truax, the longtime head coach of the Wasilla basketball program, said there is one simple fact that separates Johnson from the rest of the players in the state.

“No one person can stop her,” Hebert-Truax said. “If you put three on her, you’ve got a good chance.”

On Saturday Johnson capped a tremendous four-year varsity career with the Wasilla girls basketball program by leading the Warriors to a third-place finish in the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

Johnson, the lone senior on the Warriors squad, recorded 28 points and 10 rebounds — both game highs — en route to leading Wasilla to a 60-54 win over Ketchikan.

During her career, Johnson has helped lead the Warriors to a state championship and two Northern Lights Conference titles. She’s been an all-state selection since her sophomore year and was named all-state tourney in all four years of her career.

Johnson accomplished more in her first three seasons than most do in an entire career and after committing to play college basketball at Division I Utah State prior to her senior season, Hebert-Truax set another challenge for her star player.

“I told her when you leave us in March, make us better than we are right now,” Hebert-Truax said.

Johnson answered by leading a team that features five sophomores who see regular playing time to a runner-up finish in the NLC and a third-place finish in the state tourney for the second consecutive year.

Hebert-Truax said, while Johnson helped make her teammates better, she also became a better play herself.

She became a better passer, and more importantly, she recognized that, regardless of her talent, she couldn’t do it all by herself.

But Johnson certainly put her team on her shoulders when needed.

She averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists during the state tournament, and 21.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.9 steals and 2.2 assists during her senior year.

Hebert-Truax said Johnson not only has the physical skill to be successful, but she also possesses the knowledge of the game.

“One of the main things is just her understanding of the game,” Hebert-Truax said. “She’s able to anticipate things.”

Johnson is the second player from the Warrior program and fourth from Wasilla High School to receive the prestigious honor, handed out annually to the top player in the sport from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Former WHS standout Chandice Cronk won the honor in 2004.

The WHS boys basketball team has also be represented twice. Jesse Bean earned the award in 2007 and Ray Schafer received the honor in 2003.

Players eligible for the award are nominated by their school and the winner is selected by an advisory board overseen by ESPN Rise, a magazine catering to teens and athletics.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.