ESPN RISE

Michala Johnson has no idea how good she is.

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Ross Dettman for ESPN Rise

Despite recovering from an ACL injury, Michala Johnson is among the nation's best junior players.

When Montini (Lombard, Ill.) girls' basketball coach Jason Nichols set up a phone call between Johnson and UConn coach Geno Auriemma in the fall, Johnson asked Nichols who Auriemma was.

Johnson meant no disrespect -- she just doesn't follow the college game enough to recognize the name of a coaching legend like Auriemma, who's led the Huskies to five national titles. And she didn't know a program of that caliber would be interested in her.

After speaking with Auriemma, Johnson inquired some more about the Huskies with a few of her teammates.

"She asked us, 'So, UConn is good?'" recalls junior guard and close friend Alison Seberger. "We said, 'Yes, Michala. They're obviously good if they're recruiting you.'"

As the nation's No. 16 recruit in the ESPNU HoopGurlz Super 60, the 6-foot-3 junior center has had plenty of schools to research.

Johnson has familiarized herself with several of the programs by studying their media guides. And lately, she's had a lot of reading material. Besides UConn, Johnson is considering fellow college powerhouses Cal, Duke, Maryland and Oklahoma, among others.

A self-described "girlie girl," Johnson doesn't quite act the part of an elite basketball player. While waiting in the stands for her AAU game to start last summer, Johnson decorated her toes bright pink. And she can always be found holding her purse -- "The purses she carries are sometimes bigger than her," says her mom, Trecie -- and wearing her sunglasses prior to games.

As for her stats, Johnson says she can't even remember how much she scored if you ask her right after a game. She'd also rather watch "SpongeBob" than check out a basketball game on the tube.

"She's just a fun-loving kid," says Nichols, who's in his sixth year at the helm. "She's a kid you'd love to have as your daughter. I don't think there are enough adjectives to describe how great she is, on and off the court." Johnson appreciates all the attention. She just doesn't see what all the fuss is about.

"Sometimes I don't see what other people see," says Johnson. "People say I'm great. I tell them thank you, but I think I'm just OK right now. I can be great. I just don't think I'm great right now."

While Johnson's perspective is refreshing, it's not one shared by her opponents. If she's "just OK," then Derrick Rose is just an average NBA rookie.

During her freshman season, Johnson averaged 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game and shot a ridiculous 67.8 percent from the field as Montini was the Class AA supersectional runner-up.

Last year, she earned All-State honors from the Chicago Tribune after tallying 18.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 2.5 steals per contest. She connected on 65.4 percent of her field-goal attempts and guided the Lady Broncos to a third-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament. In the third-place game against Notre Dame, Johnson finished with game highs of 16 points and 10 boards.

Blessed with the athleticism of a guard, Johnson makes the kinds of plays that drop jaws. Nichols says she's so fast she can block a shot and still be the first player down the court. Offensively, defenders might as well forget it if she gets a first step on them baseline.

"She's an impossible one-on-one matchup," says Nichols. "And I think she's only beginning to scratch the surface offensively. Her upside is phenomenal. She has so much room to get better and she's already really good."

"If I was on another team, I would hate having to guard her," adds Seberger. "There's no way to stop her."

Injury was the only thing that could stop her this season. Last July, Johnson stretched the ACL of her left knee. She avoided surgery but had to rehab the knee until she was cleared to return to the court in November.

Johnson missed the Broncos' first game of the season, a win against Marist, before making her junior season debut against Von Steuben in the Whitney Young Thanksgiving Tournament. Early on, Johnson looked like she was back to her old self, putting up two points, eight boards and six blocks in eight minutes. But it was the only time Johnson would see the court this season, as she ended up re-injuring the knee.

This time the diagnosis was a partial tear of her left ACL, which meant Johnson's season was over. After consulting with doctors, she decided to have surgery. If there's any good news, it's that Johnson should be back in time to play her entire senior season for Montini.

"She figured that if it's going to happen, she'd rather have it happen now," her mother says.

Though she's done playing this year, Johnson's season really isn't over since she still goes to practices and roots her teammates on. To Johnson, just because she's hurt doesn't mean she's not part of the team.

She also plans on attacking her rehab with a vengeance so she can come back playing at an even higher level.

"I want to be better than I was before the injury," says Johnson.

And by then, she'll know the names of a lot more college coaches.

Jon Mahoney covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.