“She brought pride to our state”: KY Governor Andy Beshear honors and commissions ZaKiyah Johnson as Kentucky Colonel

It’s now not each day you spot a sitting U.S. governor stroll right into a highschool health club and fee a pupil as a state Colonel. Well, that is precisely how issues performed out on Thursday for Sacred Heart Academy superstar ZaKiyah Johnson.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear made a different consult with to honour the basketball phenom, mentioning her a Kentucky Colonel in popularity of her exceptional achievements off and on the courtroom.

As introduced in a publish on Sacred Heart Academy’s legit Instagram web page, Beshear paid a different consult with to the college on Thursday, extra in particular, to the Valkyries basketball crew.

The publish featured Johnson proudly keeping her commissioning certificates along the Governor. It additionally incorporated 8 different pictures taking pictures memorable moments from the day, together with the Governor’s assembly with the crew and trainer Donna Moir, posing beside the college’s state championship trophies, and so forth.

The publish’s caption learn:

“So this happened today! KY Governor Andy Beshear visited SHA to honor and commission our ZaKiyah Johnson as a Kentucky Colonel, saying ‘she brought pride to our state!’ We couldn’t agree more. Z accepted the honor with her teammates, Coach Donna Moir, Dr. Adams, Dr. McNay, Ms. Wentzel and of course, her mom. Governor Beshear asked her to always remember where she came from and we know she will.”

Sacred Hearts Academy gained the State Championship and completed first within the Kentucky Section District 27 Basketball league with an outstanding 35-3 file. Johnson’s efficiency used to be particularly a very powerful to the crew’s luck, as she averaged 21.3 issues, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals in keeping with sport.

Following a a success highschool profession, she is heading to the LSU Tigers within the Southeastern Conference subsequent season. She can be joined through different extremely rated potentialities, together with Grace Knox, Divine Bourrage and Bella Hines.

Revisiting Zakiyah Johnson’s highschool basketball profession

Five-star prospect ZaKiyah Johnson wrapped up her highschool basketball adventure because the No. 10-ranked participant within the country. The guard started and ended her profession with the Sacred Heart Academy Valkyries.

Johnson’s first yr with the Valkyries ended in a state championship, first position within the Kentucky Section District 27 Basketball League, and a 36-3 total file. She completed the season averaging 17.8 issues, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals in keeping with sport.

As a sophomore, she averaged 22.4 issues, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals in keeping with sport. It used to be a repeat of the former yr’s dominance, taking pictures the state championship, the District 27 identify, and completing the season with an similar 36-3 file.

The Valkyries gained it the entire subsequent season, Johnson’s junior yr. She averaged 18.9 issues, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals in keeping with sport, main the crew to a 31-7 file.

In phrases of private accolades, Johnson is a four-time Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, a four-time KHSAA State Championship MVP, a Kentucky Miss Basketball winner and a McDonald’s All-American.

There’s for sure a robust case to be made for ZaKiyah Johnson having one of the vital a success highschool careers within the historical past of the game.