For years, South Carolina guard Raven Johnson lived inside a viral moment. To the casual basketball fan, she was frozen in time as the tenacious defensive stopper who famously guarded Caitlin Clark during the 2023 tournament. At 5-foot-9 with a 6-foot-2 wingspan, her reputation as a pure defensive menace is what carried her national profile.
But after a somewhat disappointing 2024-25 campaign, fans began to wonder if her offensive liabilities would decrease her ranking in the draft. Now, as a senior, she is making one of the most remarkable bounce-back stories in college basketball.
Johnson is now projected as a first-round pick climbing to No. 11 on the CBS Sports Big Board and No. 14 for evaluators at Winsidr, not just because of her defense, but because of a massive offensive leap. Playing for Dawn Staley’s talented South Carolina team means you play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back, so her stats don't always jump off the page. However, she currently boasts a 129.9 offensive rating, placing her in the 99th percentile in all of college basketball.
She is scoring and assisting at a career-high rate with 10.2 points and 5.4 assists per game. But her biggest leap is her perimeter shooting: after shooting a combined 30.1% from beyond the arc over her first three seasons, she is now knocking down a career-best 36.8% of her 3-point attempts.
By proving she is more than a defensive specialist, Johnson has evolved into an all around player. Fans now believe her complete game will allow her to stay on the floor as a highly valuable WNBA rotational player.
Bonus Draft Steals:
Gianna Kneepkens (Guard, UCLA):
Gianna Kneepkens shoots 45.3% from beyond the arc on 5.3 attempts per game, many fans have mistakenly pigeonholed her as nothing more than a "three-point merchant." It doesn't help that she had the bad luck of entering the draft at the exact same time as generational shooter Azzi Fudd, leaving her slightly overshadowed in national conversations.
But when Kneepkens transferred to a loaded UCLA team for her fifth and final season to chase a national championship, she showcased a highly dynamic, complete offensive game. Her shooting release might be unorthodoxed, but she uses the threat of her shot brilliantly. On top of her 17.0 points per game, Kneepkens is averaging 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Those 3.8 assists aren't just simple perimeter passes; they are generated off the dribble as she aggressively attacks closeouts, finishes in heavy traffic at the rim, and sets up her teammates for early scores. Defensively, she has also been able to hold her own against high-level guards.
Grace Sullivan (Northwestern):
Grace Sullivan has been the undisputed engine for Northwestern this season. It would be easy for a player in her position to fade into the background of a struggling team, but evaluators like Winsidr's Melissa Triebwasser, who recently interviewed Sullivan on The Next Woman Up podcast, highlight that she consistently "shows out" in the team's biggest, most high-stakes matchups.
Picture the scene against No. 3 UCLA on January 25th: facing the best team on Northwestern's schedule, Sullivan waged a one-woman war, dropping a team-high 21 points and grabbing four rebounds. She's been their entire offense, scoring at least 15 points in all five of her Big Ten home games, and boasting season averages of 21.6 PPG and 6.2 RPG on 53.6% from the field.
Her pro value lies in her creativity: she possesses a diverse bag of moves around the basket that extends out to the mid-range. (And it really is strictly the mid-range Sullivan hasn't shot a single three-pointer this season). Experts predict that because her skillset translates so seamlessly to the professional level, she could be a massive steal as a second- or third-round pick or a training camp invitee.
Maggie Doogan (Richmond):
Maggie Doogan is the classic case of a mid-major player who has done absolutely everything to earn a WNBA roster spot, but still has to shout to be heard in draft conversations. While she helped lead Richmond to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, she has evolved into a dominant, undeniable offensive force.
There was perhaps no better example of her sheer will than when she scored a program-record 48 points in an exhausting, triple-overtime win over Davidson earlier this year. She recently surpassed 2,000 career points and earned a spot on the Naismith Trophy Late-Season Team as the only A-10 player. She is averaging 21.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG. Her efficiency is just as impressive as her volume. She is shooting 51.6% from the field, 41.8% from three, and 83.5% from the free-throw line. Her offensive versatility makes her an easy fit for almost any WNBA roster, provided a front office is willing to look past the mid-major logo on her jersey.