Kiana Johnson knew precisely what she wanted — no, what she needed — when she returned to college basketball following a dreary year away from the sport in 2014-15.

She wanted a harbor, a haven, a …

"I wanted a home," said Johnson, Virginia Union's dynamic senior guard. "That's what I wanted and that's what I found. Virginia Union is a family, and from the beginning I've felt like a member of the family. My teammates have embraced me like a sister. My coaches have embraced me like a daughter."

And it shows. Johnson is delivering an incandescent effort in her first and only season as a Panther. She leads NCAA Division II in scoring (29.3 ppg) and is ranked No. 2 nationally in assists (8.7 apg). Not coincidentally, she and her VUU teammates are preparing to play in next week's NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

All of which made Johnson, a 5-foot-6 native of Chicago, a compelling choice as The Times-Dispatch state women's basketball player of the year for 2015-16. She is only the second Division II-III athlete selected in the 22-year history of the award.

Redemption, personal and athletic, has been dyed deeply into every aspect of Johnson's 2015-16 season. Johnson, a former all-Big Ten performer at Michigan State, was suspended twice in three seasons in East Lansing. She didn't return to Michigan State in 2014-15. Instead, she retreated to Chicago. There, the woman who was so adept at dissecting defenses found herself working in a supermarket.

Johnson arrived at Virginia Union as a player grateful to have been offered a second chance.

"I don't care about big-school facilities or bright lights or the big stage or anything like that," she said. "I just want to play the game I love. When you think about it, once you step out there to play, basketball is basketball — you know? It doesn't matter where you are. I don't care whether I'm flying or riding a bus to a game. As long as I can put my uniform on and play the game in a way that gives glory to God — I'm happy."

In retrospect, she said, "probably I should have gone to a small school to begin with. I think there were 40,000 people at Michigan State, but sometimes I felt like I was the only person there."

Johnson isn't playing in a league of her own in 2015-16. But sometimes it seems that way. Her numbers are difficult to comprehend: 27 games with at least 20 points, 14 with at least 30, five with at least 40. She handed out 10 or more assists on 13 occasions. The assists were no less satisfying than the points.

"I grew up with five brothers and a sister — so I learned about sharing from a very young age," she said. "I didn't want this season to be all about me. I never wanted that. I wanted it to be about this school and this team. I wanted it to be about breathing a culture of winning back into (the VUU) program."

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH ALL-STATE TEAM

Player           Team         Pos. Year MPG  FG%  3FG FT%  RPG  Ast. Stl. Blk PPG

Kiana Johnson    VUU           G    Sr. 38.3 46.2 78  82.7 4.8  261  123   7  29.3

Katie Anderson   R-MC          F    Sr. 33.5 52.6 0   81.9 12.3  45   51  19  21.0

Lady Walker      VUU           F/C  Jr. 36.6 53.1 0   50.6 13.4  31   38  65  18.2

Jess Reinheimer  E. Mennonite  F    Sr. 34.8 47.1 50  82.6 6.8   51   29  11  19.5

Chaney Forbush   Lynchburg     F/C  Sr. 28.6 52.7 12  75.0 7.9   24   26  36  14.3

State player of the year: Kiana Johnson, VUU 
State coach of the year: Kenny Brooks, JMU