Kenneth Cook/Staff Photographer
Forward Janee Johnson thought that she had played her final college basketball game last season on March 27, when the Pirates were bounced from the third round of the WNIT after a loss to rival-Rutgers in double overtime by a 91-79 final. Then over the summer she got a call from head coach Tony Bozzella that changed that notion.
“I remember exactly where I was,” Johnson recanted. “Coach B called me and told me that I got my sixth year and I screamed at the top of my lungs.”
Johnson received an extension of her five-year clock from the NCAA, which will allow her to suit up for the Pirates this season.
The NCAA allows for student-athletes to complete their four years of eligibility in five years due to time lost via injury. It is an uncommon occurrence that student athletes are granted a sixth year.
The application for an extension of a student-athlete’s five-year clock is extremely rare and difficult to attain. According to the NCAA compliance rules, in order for an extension request to be successful, the institution requesting it on behalf of the student-athlete must prove that the student was deprived of more than one season of competition for reasons beyond his or her control.
The Pirates did just that, explaining that Johnson lost a severe amount of playing time due to multiple injuries that occurred in the early stages of Johnson’s time at Duke University before she transferred to Seton Hall.
Getting that extra year to play means a lot to the graduate student whose excitement could not be contained.
“The excitement never went away,” she said. “I called my mom, my dad, really anyone who was close to tell them the news. Because it was like getting accepted back into college again, it was a weird, weird feeling, but very exciting.”
Women’s basketball head coach Tony Bozzella, said he too was ecstatic about the news and getting one of his team leaders back is key for his team’s success this season.
“We have developed a relationship that’s as strong as any I’ve had with any player,” Bozzella said. “We get along great, she’s been my biggest supporter in the locker room.”
Bozzella is heading into his second year as head coach of the team that finished 20-14, the program’s most successful season in years that saw a win at the Big East championship tournament over Providence on March 8 before falling to St. John’s one night later. The Pirates also made a run in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), defeating American University and Princeton before being ousted in the third round by Rutgers. Bozzella credits parts of that success to Johnson, attributing her as a key contributor for him and the team.
“Janee is an extremely talented player, but more than that she has developed into a phenomenal leader and she is one of the most vital players we have,” Bozzella said.
The relationship between Johnson and Bozzella is the main reason Johnson pushed so hard to gain that extra year.
“He’s like a ball of fire,” Johnson said. “He’s always energetic and I love that about him. He’s almost like a father figure, especially when I’m away from home, so far and so, he takes us under his wing and he cares about us genuinely.”
That family atmosphere is something Bozzella has tried to instill from his first day on campus, as he believes it only helps when teams are close, not just on the court, but off it as well.
“That’s what we’re trying to build here,” Bozzella said. “Family’s a strong word, it doesn’t just come automatically, and it comes through trust and going through hard times together. Janee helped me a lot with that.”
Last season Johnson started 32 of her 33 games played, she ranked fifth on the team in scoring with 7.2 points per game and rebounding at 5.1. With her back in the fold, this Pirates team has very high expectations for the upcoming season and Johnson is again ready to give whatever she has to make sure the team has another prosperous season.
“I just want to deliver whatever I can to help my team, whatever it is,” Johnson said. “At this point I think I’ve matured and know that basketball isn’t about individual stats, it’s if you bring you’re A-game as a team, then together, collectively we can make strides.”
Johnson and the Pirates will look to continue to make strides this season as they open up competition against Rider on Nov. 9.
Christian Pierre-Louis can be reached at christian.pierrelouis@student.shu.edu or on twitter @CPierreLouis_
