Amanda Johnson

Classroom

On Feb. 23, Amanda Johnson was named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® women’s basketball first team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. It was the third consecutive year that Johnson was named an Academic All-American – a record for the Oregon basketball program. She was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America first team in 2011 and 2012 after receiving second-team honors in 2010. She is also only the second Pac-12 player to earn three Academic All-American awards, following Oregon State’s Chelle Flamoe from 1987-89.
Johnson’s latest hardware came on March 7 as she was named the 2012 Toyo Tires Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award, which is presented in the 22 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
In her fourth year at Oregon, Johnson is currently a graduate student earning a master’s degree in counseling psychology and human services with a 4.16 grade point average. She also is practicing clinical work at a local Eugene non-profit. Johnson was awarded her undergraduate degree Summa Cum Laude, graduating in the top two percent of her class with a double major in psychology and sociology following her sophomore year in the summer of 2010.  After obtaining her graduate degree, Johnson plans to work in the field of social services, and is interested in such specialties as mental-health counseling, youth work for a non-profit or residential facility. She is also considering working with Teach for America or AmeriCorps. In addition, Johnson is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic First Team selection, and for the last three years has been awarded the Harry Ritchie Scholar Athlete Award, given to an Oregon women’s basketball player for her athletic and scholastic achievements.

Character

As a student-athlete, Johnson has had many opportunities to exemplify her leadership ability.  On the team, she served her second year as team captain.  She has worked hard to become not only a motivator of and example to her teammates, but also to communicate with the coaching staff on behalf of the team.  Through her graduate academic pursuits she has gained a rather deep self awareness which has improved her leadership skills within the team. Richard Lariviere, former University of Oregon President, identified Johnson as a student leader.  In 2010, Lariviere appointed her as the student-athlete representative on the search committee for the Director of Athletics, joining faculty and athletic department administration. She was also appointed to the Matthew Knight Arena Art Selection Committee in 2009.  Each university building must have 1% of the total cost of the building dedicated to artwork for the building.  Johnson represented the student-athlete population again as a committee member.
What stands out most about her character is her love for and commitment to learning.  She views every situation as a opportunity to learn, observing others with intent.  Her analytical nature lends itself to being a solution-oriented leader on her team and in her academic, personal and career endeavors.

Community

Johnson has been an active member of the University of Oregon Athletic Department’s student run service organization, O Heroes.  The program offers opportunities to volunteer as a department, a team and as an individual. As an individual, Johnson has made many appearances for youth organizations and local schools.  Highlights of those appearances include a recent ice cream social for Girl Scouts of America and special elementary school assemblies for students who have performed at a high level.  She also participated in providing Thanksgiving food baskets to families who could otherwise not afford to purchase a traditional meal. With her team, she has participated in visits to the campus childcare center.  Johnson and her teammates spent the day visiting children aged 6 months to pre-school.  The team also attended a high school home economics class, in which they shared a pancake recipe and then made pancakes with the students in the class. Annually, student-athletes participate in an on campus fundraiser for the United Way, teaming up with other student leaders to collect cash for the organization.  The fundraiser was created as an avenue for student leaders to engage other students in philanthropic opportunities. Another annual university event in which Johnson participates is University Day, dedicated to students and faculty volunteering time to help beautify campus during the spring term.

Competition

Johnson already ranks in the top 10 of six all-time statistical categories at Oregon with 1,469 points (7th) 865 rebounds (5th), 190 steals (5th), 161 three-pointers (6th), 29 double-doubles (5th) and 72 double-figure scoring games (T-7th). This year, Amanda Johnson missed 11 games with a broken thumb, but returned to the floor at Oregon State on Jan. 28. For the season in 17 games played, she is averaging 19.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor.

Last season, Johnson became just the ninth player in UO history, and the first since 2002, to reach the 1,000-point threshold during just three years on the court. Johnson is a two-time Pac-10 honorable mention selection after finishing third in the conference in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) as a junior. She is also a three-time conference Player of the Week, and has been named the Most Valuable Player of the Oregon Thanksgiving Tournament in back-to-back seasons (2010 & 2011).  Johnson led the Ducks in rebounds for three consecutive seasons, and in addition to averaging a career-best 15.9 points per game as a junior, Johnson led the Ducks with 24 double-figure scoring games, and also led UO with nine 20-point efforts and eight double-doubles. During her Oregon career, Johnson has recorded 72 double-figure scoring games, three 30-point games, 21 20-point games, and 29 double-doubles. She has led the Ducks in scoring on 38 occasions, and in rebounding 68 times.