Kailee Johnson celebrates Central Catholic's state-championship win over South Medford.
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Kailee Johnson knew it was important to play with emotion this season. She just didn’t want emotions to play with her.
So Johnson took a big step forward in her maturity as a basketball player as a senior, channeling her energy into a single-minded pursuit -- bringing home a Class 6A championship for Central Catholic.
“My physical game has improved, but I had better control of my emotions,” Johnson said. “I didn’t get so crazy. I kept it calm. That was a change in my game that helped me this season.”
It all came together this season for the 6-foot-3 forward, to lead the Rams to their first state title.
The state’s coaches have voted Johnson as the Class 6A player of the year. She is the third Central Catholic player in five seasons to win the award.
“I truly did not set out that many personal goals,” Johnson said. “My main goal this season was to win the state championship, by any means necessary. I’m just really proud to be able to get a banner for my school.”
The Stanford-bound Johnson averaged 18.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.1 steals and 1.9 blocked shots while shooting 63.5 percent from the field and 62.6 percent on free throws.
“She’s matured every year, but this year I think she had such a vision,” Rams coach Sandy Dickerson said. “Every day her focus was on getting herself better, getting this team better, and not being denied that championship. I think anybody that saw her three games at the tournament knew that that’s what her mission was.”
Johnson can score inside and outside and is dominant on the backboards. She also is a force on defense, using her long frame and quickness to shut down passing lanes and contest shots all over the court.
She embraced defensive challenges.
“My goal that game was to focus on my defense and rebounding,” Johnson said. “That’s really what it was about this season. We knew what we wanted to get done.”
Johnson is the daughter of former Tigard three-sport standout Jacob Johnson, who played football at Oregon, and the granddaughter of Ken Johnson, who coached girls basketball at Tigard. She grew up in Tigard and as a seventh-grader moved to the Grant district in northeast Portland.
She visited Central Catholic and Grant before deciding to attend the southeast Portland school.
“My decision wasn’t really based on basketball at all,” she said. “It was just more about the education and the environment I wanted to be in.”
“I kind of wish our season would’ve kept going,” Johnson said. “I’m going to miss it a lot.”
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