Year after tragedy, Johnson signs gladly

Roshunda Johnson (left) talks with her father Edward Johnson on Wednesday afternoon at Parkview High School before signing to play basketball at Oklahoma State University.

Roshunda Johnson (left) talks with her father Edward Johnson on Wednesday afternoon at Parkview High School before signing to play basketball at Oklahoma State University.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

— Roshunda Johnson enjoyed a joyous day Wednesday, but there were several somber undertones on the day that the 5-8 point guard signed a basketball scholarship with Oklahoma State.

A year ago this week, OSU women’s basketball Coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna were killed when the single-engine airplane they were aboard crashed about 45 miles west of Little Rock. The two coaches were on their way to watch Johnson play that night.

“All along I kind of knew I was going to go [to Oklahoma State],” Johnson said. “But Coach Serna was one of the main people recruiting me. She talked with me almost every week. Any time she had a free period, I could just call her up and we could talk.”

“Ro really never talked too much about the crash, but there were a lot of unspoken words,” Parkview Coach Lahoma Howard said. “I knew she was crushed about the whole situation and I was too. Miranda came and watched our practices. We talked a lot; we e-mailed each other. The contact was there and when you add the fact they were coming to see us play that night, it was quite devastating.”

Johnson, who averaged 16.9 points a game during conference play last season, led the Lady Patriots to a 30-2 record and a Class 6A state title last season. Her goal is to help the Lady Patriots earn a repeat.

Johnson said she’s found nothing wrong with Oklahoma State, and is looking forward to playing with 5-6 guard Tiffany Bias, who shattered the OSU single-season record for assists (229) last season.

“I like the coaches, the team, the kids,” Johnson said of Cowgirls and Coach Jim Littell, who took over the program after Budke’s death last year. “I think I’m going to have a great experience working with Bias. We’re both point guards and we both have the same work ethic.”

Sports, Pages 19 on 11/15/2012