Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson primed for ‘special’ reunion with Gamecocks
Ta’Niya Latson and Raven Johnson sent a shock wave through the college women’s hoops community earlier this month.
Latson, the nation’s leading scorer last season and widely regarded as one of the top players in the transfer portal at the time, announced she’d committed to play for South Carolina. No less than 10 minutes later, Johnson announced she planned to return to Columbia for one more year with the Gamecocks.
South Carolina fans celebrated the news all over social media. Those celebrations also reached the halls of Westlake High School — the place where Latson and Johnson teamed during their preps days in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Oh, boy, I was real excited,” Westlake girls basketball coach Hilda Hankerson told The State. “Everybody in our school was excited. My coaching staff — everybody was just tickled pink, as they say.”
Hankerson, who has coached at Westlake since 1995, was a first-hand witness to the dominance that was on display when Johnson and Latson shared the court in high school.
Johnson and Latson overlapped for three years in high school, before Latson finished her senior year in Florida at American Heritage and Johnson moved on to the college level. The duo won three straight high school state championships and won the Geico National Championship in 2021, Johnson’s senior year.
Hankerson described the duo as a “one-two punch” — especially in transition.
“We were pretty much guaranteed in transition that there were not many people that could keep up with us when we ran the floor, and it wasn’t by accident,” Hankerson said. “We practiced that over and over again. … We knew how fast they were, and not many kids could handle the ball like Raven, and could see the floor as well as she did. And Ta’Niya, when you see how super quick she is when she’s leaking out in transition, you better have somebody down there that can really stop her — more than one person.”
The two had a combined 82-2 record during their three shared years together at Westlake. During Johnson’s full four years at the school Westlake sported a 112-4 record (112-0 in the state of Georgia).
The year Westlake won the Geico National Championship (Johnson’s senior season and Latson’s junior season), Latson was named an All-American and was named to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Class 6A First-Team. That same year Johnson was named the Naismith Player of the Year, among several other honors.
“They were on a mission,” Hankerson said. “They play so well together. They’re just like they’re joined at the hip, almost like sisters. They’re so in tune to what each other can do. And that didn’t come from just coaching them. They just have that instinct that they played that well together, and it was a beautiful thing to watch through those years with them.”
Both players have continued to blossom since reaching the collegiate stage.
Johnson’s career and accolades are well known by Gamecock fans. She’s a two-time national champion and was a cornerstone of the winningest recruiting class in program history. This past season she was named to the All-SEC Defense team.
Latson had a successful three-year run at Florida State. She was named an All-ACC First Team player three times and an honorable mention All-American during all three of her seasons with the Seminoles. Latson has never averaged less than 20 points per game during her time in college, and led the country in scoring with 25.2 points per game this past season.
Latson is more than just a shooter though. Hankerson said her speed and mindset as a player are what separate her from others.
“She is super quick and very deceptive, she can change her speed and her pace so fast before you have a chance to respond,” Hankerson said. “... When she goes to the basket, she’s going with a mission, ‘I’m going to score.’ Her mindset is different. Every girl and every person don’t think like that.
“When she goes to that bucket, you’re gonna have to really hit her in a way that she can’t finish it,” Hankerson continued. “She’s going in there, and I always said to the kids, with her eyes on the prize. She finishes all of her shots with her head up, unless you’re just knocking her down and she can’t see it.”
Hankerson believes the success Johnson and Latson had while playing together in high school will easily translate to South Carolina. She said the two have a sister-like bond that reflects in their play on both sides of the ball once they take the court.
“Both of them always want to strive to be better, and I don’t think they have reached the ceiling yet,” Hankerson said. “I really think they still have more to give, and I know that (South Carolina coach) Dawn Staley will get more out of them. I’m excited to see what this is going to bring at the next level. Dawn has something special with the two of them.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 7:15 AM.
