When University of South Alabama forward Jennifer Johnson suffered her third torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in four years during her junior season, it would have been easy to get frustrated and call it a career.  But according to Johnson, that was never an option.

"Basketball is all I know," said the Tusla, Okla., native.  "I can't even picture my life after basketball and what I'm going to do after school.  I come from a family of basketball, and we say just keep playing 'til you die."

The string of injuries began when Johnson was in her senior year at Edison Prep High School.  Prior to tearing the ACL in her right knee, she was being recruited by a number of Division I programs.

"I had schools like Tulsa, Memphis, Iowa and some others who were all looking at me.  There were maybe six or seven teams recruiting me at that time."

After the setback, however, those schools backed off and Johnson's plans changed; she would go on to sign with Independence (Kan.) Community College.  "Around the time I was going to sign, a lot of schools had dropped me because I had torn my ACL.  So there were a lot of JUCO schools looking at me, and that really wasn't the plan.  But once I got [to Independence] and saw how good I was doing, I thought I could play one year and then find somewhere else."

During her lone season at Independence, Johnson averaged 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, helping to lead her team to a 30-3 record and capture a share of the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division title.  Though she was a valuable member of that squad, she said that it wasn't until her arrival at USA that Johnson began to realize her full potential.

"Really, I didn't start developing until I got here," she said.  "I'm just blessed to be here; coach (Rick) Pietri and coach (Aisha) Stewart really took a chance on me.  They knew I could play, but I didn't actually start making that progress of growing as a person and as a player until I got here."

It didn't take Johnson long to find her footing at the Division I level, as she put up nine points and pulled down six rebounds in her Jaguar debut against Central Florida.  Through 11 games, the sophomore would go on to average 7.7 points – including a 20-point effort against Utah out of the Pac 12 Conference – and 4.5 rebounds, while also leading the team in blocks coming off the bench.

Her season came to an abrupt end, however, when she suffered another ACL tear – this time in her left knee – in practice the day before a matchup at Sam Houston State.  

After another round of surgery and rehab, Johnson was able to return to the floor by the time the 2012-13 campaign began.  While she was in the process of another solid season with the Jags, bad news struck again immediately following a season-high nine-point game versus Sam Houston State.

Johnson had torn her left ACL once again – this time just 10 games into the season and almost exactly a year after her previous injury.

Asked what went through her mind when she learned the news, Johnson said, "Not again."

Having gone through the process twice before, however, Johnson was confident she would be able to return.  "Once you go through it a few times, you're like a pro.  It was a little different this last time because of the graft they used.  I was able to walk about two days after I was on the operating table.  A lot of stuff was different; I never took one day off in my rehab."

Johnson was initially thought to not be available until sometime in December.  However, the 6-0 senior forward surpassed those expectations and was cleared to start practicing with the team on Oct. 23.  The senior attributed her quick recovery to the USA staff and the rehabilitation she endured.  "(Assistant Strength and Conditioning) coach Callye (Williams) and (Assistant Athletic Trainer) Megan Harper have been working with me every day."

"The reason she probably feels better this time around is that the last two injuries took place within a year of each other," said Harper.  "The doctor really wanted us to concentrate and work with her more to make sure she fully got her strength back and to make sure her knee had the endurance that it needed.  So we worked with her for a longer period of time to make sure she was absolutely capable of coming back without having any issues."

Now that she is back on the floor, Johnson will look to do whatever she can to help her team in her final collegiate season.

"Coming back from her injuries, just the fact that she's out there is helping us right now," said first-year women's basketball head coach Terry Fowler.  "When she has her back to the basket is when she's going to be really good.  If we have her in the '4' spot, she's a mismatch against most '4' players.

With the Jaguars looking to replace 70 percent of their offensive production this season, Johnson is looking to close out her collegiate career in a big way and fill that vacated scoring role.  

"I think one of my biggest roles (this season) is scoring," said Johnson.  "I want to do more than just that, though.  I really love my team this year.  I think we play hard and I think we play together.  I want to do more than just score; I want to do whatever I can out there."

In her first time back out on the court in game action, Johnson immediately made her presence felt as she was 8-of-10 from the floor and recorded a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) in South Alabama's double-overtime exhibition win over Mobile.  

—USA—