money Boys basketball: Valley Central's Raysean Johnson makes heroic comeback
MONTGOMERY – Raysean Johnson could hardly contain his excitement for his junior basketball season at Valley Central.
He had already established himself as one of the rising players in the Mid-Hudson, putting in a lot of work in the offseason and in club ball.
Johnson was coming off two seasons where he averaged 16 points as a freshman and 22 during a sophomore season truncated by the COVID pandemic.
“I’ve been around this program for a long time,’’ said VC coach and former player Frank Nutt, “and he’s the best player that I’ve ever seen on this court.’’
In November 2021, preseason camp was only two days away and Johnson was still playing AAU ball. Then came one fateful play: Johnson attempted a steal and his right arm got pulled back.
“After that I knew I was done,’’ Johnson, then 16, thought. Sure enough, he had ligament damage.
His parents didn’t wait and Johnson had surgery a week later. The 2021-22 season was lost, but his critical senior season – when college recruiters would be making final decisions – was still in peril if things didn’t go right.
“It was hard. It was definitely hard,’’ Johnson said. “I just had to keep my mind right and just keep focusing.’’
After six months of inactivity, Johnson was cleared to resume basketball on June 20. “I was happy,’’ he said. “I went straight to the gym and just kept working until now.’’
“We were pretty confident that once he kind of healed and got his legs underneath him again that he’d be the Raysean that we’d had before,’’ Nutt said.
Repairing his game was one thing; repairing his reputation was another.
“Once I got hurt the recruiting radar definitely went down,’’ Johnson said. “So I had to get my shot back a little bit. I had to get my mechanics right. I had to get my footwork right.’’
“A lot of the AAU stuff that he would have done his junior year,’’ Nutt said last month, “so he’s a pretty unknown commodity right now.’’
Johnson admits he was “trying to baby’’ the shoulder when he returned to the court last summer but before long he got stronger and his natural game returned. He knew he was back after dropping 25-plus points in a pair of AAU games in Pennsylvania. “After that, I knew I waws good,’’ he said.
Despite losing a year of playing time, Johnson has re-established his all-around play: he’s still a top defender and he can shoot from range and off the drive. He is the team’s leading scorer, helping lead the Vikings to a 13-7 record and OCIAA Division II title.
“He’s special offensively,’’ Nutt said. “He’s probably one of the best on-ball defenders. He’s just a special player.’’
Johnson’s return, though, is on borrowed time – Valley Central was set to play at division nemesis Warwick on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the Section 9 Class AA playoffs.
Boys basketball: Check out the Section 9 tournament brackets
Johnson remains a viable NCAA Division I recruit, though he has not made a decision as of yet; he said he may even consider a year of prep school to boost his stock. For now, he just wants to keep his grades up, keep putting in the work, stay healthy and perhaps lead Valley Central to a sectional championship.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Raysean Johnson makes heroic comeback for Valley Central basketball
