PHOENIX — When Raven Johnson began her college basketball career at South Carolina, she was scared to talk to her head coach.

It took Johnson, the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2021, some time to shake the intimidation of playing for Dawn Staley, regarded as one of the most notable figures in women’s basketball. Johnson would go as far as to say she was afraid of her.

“I was looking at her as an icon,” Johnson said. “Like, I’m really playing under Dawn Staley. I used to be scared to ask her questions.”

Johnson has since become one of the most valued players in Staley’s coaching career.

“She’s probably the one that I’ll miss the most out of all the players that I’ve coached,” Staley said after defeating LSU on Feb. 14.

The bond shared by Staley and Johnson is a special one, forged between two consummate point guards who have overcome the adversity Johnson’s faced and celebrated the many nets cut and trophies hoisted together.

It’s a relationship that has been put on full display during this South Carolina postseason run, which will continue Friday against defending champion UConn in the Final Four. It’s a connection that’s joyous and authentic, battle-weathered and fiercely loyal.

“They understand each other. They speak their own language almost. It’s kind of funny,” South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson said Thursday. “They’ve known each other for so long. They’ve been through the highs and lows together. They’re like roll dogs.

“They love each other.”

Being a point guard for Staley isn’t for the weak. It’s a position that Staley, naturally, demands more from than any other position on the floor. It’s a requirement that Staley’s point guards be mentally tough and coachable, super competitive and prepared to handle any basketball outcome that can occur on a court.

“It’s a position in which if everything goes right, they get all the praise, and when everything goes wrong, it’s their fault,” Staley said on March 21. “You have to condition them to believe that. They’re always on their A-game. They’re always understanding their responsibility out there on the floor.”

Even those synonymous with the South Carolina program, such as Gamecocks legend A’ja Wilson, can’t relate to the demands that come with piloting Staley’s game plan and upholding her standard.

“That is something that I would never, ever understand. I know it’s tough,” said Wilson, who led South Carolina to its first championship in 2017. “Understanding what [Staley] wants out of you every single day is something that is truly different from a point guard position.”

While Johnson was not present for South Carolina’s first national championship, she has become a central figure of a program that has flourished in its current dynastic form. She is often considered the bridge to this winning era of Gamecocks basketball that has taken on different forms and identities. The throughline, however, has been Johnson.

There’s a sense of ease for Staley that comes with the consistency Johnson has shown during her tenure.

“I don’t worry about winning because Raven’s a winner. … Her winning percentage with our program is pretty darn high,” Staley said Thursday of Johnson, who has won 94.7% of her games as a Gamecocks player. “It’s a comfort in knowing that Raven’s on our team, and she gives us a really good chance of winning every time we step on the floor.”

For Staley, there’s also admiration for the player Johnson has become given the adversity she has endured. Two games into Johnson’s freshman year, she tore her ACL, ending her season. She watched from the sidelines in 2022 as the Gamecocks won their second national championship. Following South Carolina’s elimination in the 2023 Final Four, Johnson was the target of criticism for her 3-point shooting after being waved off by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

Staley, though, has been Johnson’s biggest advocate and cheerleader as Johnson has fully come into her own as a player. This season, Johnson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year while also being named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press. Johnson averaged career highs in points (10.2), assists (5.3) and field goal percentage (50.0). She also shot a career-best 41.4% from the 3-point line.

Johnson is projected to be a top 5 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft.

“I’m happy Raven is getting her flowers, finally, at the end of her career,” Staley said on March 23. “I think the rest of the country is finally seeing what she means to our program.”

What has impressed Staley has been Johnson’s growth as a leader, one that Staley can count on to direct even in spaces that she’s not in. Johnson called herself “a pain in the butt” who never thought she’d have a voice others would look to. It’s a part of her identity that she would commonly defer to others to carry.

“She’s taken on the reins of making sure – she’s asking the hard questions: ‘Are you ready?’ If you tell her yes, then she’ll say, ‘Well then, look like it.’ That is really the most beautiful thing that you can overhear a player asking one of her peers,” Staley said. “You know your locker room is good when your leaders are leading out loud and in real time.”

Staley has taught Johnson plenty, but in the process has learned a lot from her veteran point guard, too.

Following South Carolina’s second-round NCAA tournament win against Southern California, Staley told the media about how Johnson came up to her during timeouts and said, “Aflac,” a nod to Staley’s partnership with the insurance brand.

Staley said Johnson has taught her to stay light on her toes as she can never anticipate what comes next. She can always count on Johnson to bring a sense of calm to the chaos. From Johnson, Staley has learned that there’s always room for levity, even in the tensest of arenas. She hasn’t taken that for granted.

“It’s those moments that I’ll miss,” Staley said. “She’ll make me laugh in the middle of a game, and it could be a tight match. It’s just Raven. She really understands who she is. … No matter what anyone says to her, she won’t change who she is.”

This postseason, Staley and Johnson’s bond has become a heartwarming storyline to South Carolina’s run. Johnson’s unserious antics alongside Staley, such as when she bear-hugged her head coach during their game against TCU or entertainingly toasted Staley during the news conference after they defeated Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 have highlighted how close the player and coach are while also signaling that they are treasuring each moment they have left with one another.

As she took questions from the media Thursday, Johnson winced with a reluctant awareness as she acknowledged that the ride alongside Staley — which has delivered one of the more memorable runs in college basketball history — was approaching its final stop.

For Staley and Johnson, it’s now about doing what they can to prolong the inevitable and ensuring when they walk off the floor of the Final Four on Friday that it isn’t for the last time.

Luckily for both, if there’s one thing that could be said to be synonymous with Johnson’s college basketball career, it’s winning.

When Staley said Johnson would be the most missed of all the players Staley has coached, Johnson’s eyes widened. While Johnson’s storied playing career will end in Phoenix, her relationship with her coach will likely forever endure.

“I’m going to miss her, too,” Johnson replied. “I’m going to blow her phone up, don’t worry.”

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