ONEIDA | Lady Indian senior Kelsey Pike has one more year of high school basketball. That's one more year to be noticed; one more year to be recruited.
But, as it turns out, she doesn't need it.
Pike on Wednesday announced her verbal commitment to Johnson University, saying, “When you know, you know.”
A 1,000-point scorer who was a Class A all-state player as a junior, and who is expected to be a Miss Basketball candidate this year after winning both the District 4-A Player of the Year award and District 4-A Tournament MVP award last year, Pike made her announcement on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson University is located in Knoxville, and participates in the NAIA's Appalachian Athletic Conference. The campus is located on the banks of the French Broad River, just outside of Seymour.
The Royals won just four games last season, but made a coaching move in the off-season. Bryon Lawhon was named Johnson's head coach last month, after a run of success at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn.
Lawhon's Lady Lions went undefeated during last year's regular season, finishing 29-0. For that, Lawhon was named the AAC coach of the year. The Lions finished with a 32-2 record, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament.
One of Lawhon's strong points is seen as recruiting. He coached six NAIA All-Americans at Bryan. He is a former middle school coach from Lenoir City, prior to joining the staff at Bryan in 2014.
