Jan. 24, 2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - When a missed shot comes off the rim, USC Upstate junior women's basketball player Ebony Johnson is one of the usual suspects fighting for the rebound. Johnson is almost relentless when it comes to rebounding and the numbers prove that with an average of 7.2 rebounds per game. Her best game of the season came in a 52-50 win against Bethune-Cookman December 31 which she finished with a team-high 12 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.

Recently, Johnson sat down with Adam Walker of upstatespartans.com to talk about her play, her birth place of California and Denzel Washington.

US.com: How would you describe your play so far this season?
Ebony Johnson: I think I've been trying to step up with my play this season. I'm trying to play with an injury right now, but I think I'm doing pretty well. Now that Courtney (Bradley) is out for the season, I'm trying to be a leader for the team.

US.com: How has the team tackled its first season in Division I?
EJ: We've had a rough time so far, but we're still fighting. We are going to fight to the last game. We've lost two people due to injury and several others for other reasons and we're just going to fight it out.

US.com: Have you tried to take on more of a leadership role this season since there are no seniors on the roster and you are one of two juniors playing for Upstate?
EJ: Yes, I have. I've been thinking about it a lot and every time our team starts to get down, I usually say keep your head up and keep fighting.

US.com: How tough was it to hear that your good friend, junior guard Courtney Bradley, was out for the season with an injury several weeks ago?
EJ: I think I had tears in my eyes, but somebody had to stay strong for the rest of the team. I really wish that she was able to play. This is the first time I've played without her since I've been here. We've played every game together until this point. I've tried to encourage her as well because I know she wants to be out there playing right now.

US.com: You currently lead Upstate in rebounding. What is your philosophy on rebounding?
EJ: It's a team effort. I would not get half of my rebounds without the rest of the team boxing out as well. I really don't know how many rebounds I have until the end of a game. When I had 20 rebounds against Bethune-Cookman, I was really shocked because I didn't feel I had that many. I was just having fun playing hard.

US.com: You were born in California. Do you have any memories of California?
EJ: I have no memories at all. I think my family moved with I was two-months old. I want to go to San Bernadino one day and see what it was like. My parents were in the military and that's why we moved.

US.com: Who is your favorite actor and why?
EJ: I would say Denzel Washington. He's played a lot different roles from American Gangster to The Great Debaters and Antwone Fisher. He's a pretty good actor because he can take almost any type of character and play them well.

US.com: What is it like to play for head coach Tammy George?
EJ: It's actually pretty fun. I've learned a lot since I've been here with her. I've learned to play better defense and shoot and dribble better. She and the rest of the coaching staff have boosted my confidence and I've improved a lot. She's a fun person on and off the court.

US.com: What do you do when you have free time after school and basketball?
EJ: I'm usually on my computer browsing the internet. I go to MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and all of those different websites.

US.com: What do you want to do after you graduate from Upstate?
EJ: I want to be involved in something that law comes into play. I think I would like to be a probation officer or do something with kids at a juvenile detention center, but I also would like to be an AAU coach during the summertime. I would like to be involved with sports in that capacity.