Former UNLV star Brooke Johnson determined to make cut with WNBA’s Aces

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, May 4, 2018 | 2 a.m.

No one was more excited than Brooke Johnson to learn that the WNBA was relocating to Las Vegas.

Johnson, a 6-foot guard, was in the middle of her senior year at UNLV when the news broke that the Aces were coming. She was thrilled, and that was before Johnson even thought she might have a chance to make the team.

“I loved it,” Johnson said. “Las Vegas has been craving professional teams for many years now, and with me being a women’s basketball player, that was probably the best thing that could have happened. Just as a fan of the game, that was exciting.”

Now, less than three weeks from the start of the WNBA season, Johnson is much more than a fan. After leading the Lady Rebels in scoring last season, the Aces extended a training camp invitation, and Johnson is battling in practice to earn a roster spot.

Johnson was front and center at the franchise’s media day event on Thursday, and she acknowledged that it won’t be easy to make the cut on a team that features stars like Kayla McBride, Kelsey Plum and No. 1 overall draft pick A’ja Wilson.

“Right now I’m just taking this day by day at training camp, trying to do everything I can to get on the team,” Johnson said. “And if I don’t, I’m looking to go overseas and try to develop into a player that can come back and make it onto a [WNBA] team after a year or maybe a few years, however long it takes. I’m just dedicated to working as hard as I can.”

Johnson didn’t consider a career as a professional basketball player until after her breakout sophomore season, when she averaged 13.5 points per game and led the Mountain West with 2.4 steals per game. As a junior, she again led the league in steals (2.4 per game) and scored 12.2 points.

As a senior, she upped her scoring to 16.1 points per game while making a team-best 33.7 percent of her 3-pointers.

When the Aces announced their move to Las Vegas, head coach and team president Bill Laimbeer made it a point to scout some UNLV games, with a particular focus on Johnson. When the Lady Rebels’ season ended, Johnson got the call to attend training camp.

Now Johnson is practicing with the pros and allowing herself to believe that this could be her big break.

And if it doesn’t work out this time, Johnson plans to keep coming back until she makes the cut.

“Even if I don’t make team, I’ll probably be at every home game,” Johnson said. “This team being in Las Vegas will definitely give me something to work toward. Getting the call to even come to training camp was all the motivation I needed in order to say, ‘Yes I can do this, yes I can make a career out of this and I can keep going.’ I’ve just been using that to fuel my fire.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.