Cheltenham senior Tiffany Johnson was recognized for signing a letter of intent to accept a basketball scholarship to West Chester University
Tiffany Johnson – West Chester University (Basketball)
Major: Undecided but possibly nursing or athletic trainingFinal list of colleges: West Chester, Millersville
Reasons for choosing West Chester: “I actually didn’t have a big list of schools because I verballed to West Chester so early. By playing AAU, I had schools that contacted me, but when I went to visit West Chester, I was sold right away. I loved the campus, and I already knew people who went there. What convinced me the most was the basketball team. When I went on my overnight and stayed with them, you could tell they had a really good bond, and they had a fun around each other and the coach was included. That’s something that at Cheltenham and in AAU I’ve always been around teams like that, so it just felt like I could fit in there.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate basketball become a reality? “I started thinking about in eighth grade or ninth grade, and by playing AAU and going to the tournaments, that’s when you get your looks from colleges. It was my dream. I knew I wanted to play at the next level.”
What was the recruiting process like for you? “It can be overwhelming. You have some coaches who are calling every week to talk to you, and even if you’re not especially interested, you still have to talk to them because if they’re trying to offer you money, you don’t want to just turn them down. My parents didn’t want me to make the decision too early, but when I went to West Chester, it was like, ‘This is where I want to go.’ There was no need to go any further or go visit anywhere else. This was the school I wanted.”
Coach Bob Schaefer says: “Tiffany played on our ninth grade team as an eighth grader, and she’s been an important player for our varsity for three years and part of a fourth too. It seems like she’s been at Cheltenham forever, and she’s always been that stable point guard we could count on to handle the ball and control the game.
“She just was a very tough kid. She listened and paid attention and always tried to do what she was told to do, and for a point guard, that’s exactly what you need. She also had the skills. She handled the ball very well and had very few turnovers. She had a very calming effect on our team, but yet she could get the ball moving down the court when we needed her to get it down there. She had a very unique layup shot where she would lean into the player and draw the foul. She had many high assist games, and she was just invaluable. We needed her out there, and in every big game, we counted on her. There were games where she kept us in the game.
“Tiffany ran the team. She really was a great floor general, and we are certainly going to miss that.”
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