Hall of Fame
Vangela Crowe Johnson stood a mere 5’7 in height but her talent allowed her to reach far into the basketball clouds in her four years at Rutgers-Newark and now as a deserving Hall of Famer.
Most teams would have their doubts about someone that size playing, period, but after three years of stardom she stepped into the rough and tumble center position, playing against opponents who had a seven inch height advantage, and beating those odds.
Her coach, Linda Yost, noted, “Vangela had a great ability to move around the glass. She instinctively reacted to the ball off the rim and her exceptional jumping ability enabled her to snare rebounds that seemed impossible.”
She took down 848 rebounds in her career, and averaged more than 13 per game in her senior year and was cited in USA Today as the leading rebounder in the nation for the first month of the season. Her quickness made her one of the best stealers in the sport, grabbing 252 in her four years. She was a sturdy rock in the lineup, missing only a single game in her career and starting every other game.
But as amazing as her defensive accomplishments were against foes that towered half a foot or more over, her offense was also spectacular. She scored 1,541 career points, averaged more than 20 points a game with a field goal percentage of some 50 percent.
The awards flowed to her, highest point scorer of male or female cagers, MVP of the New England Tournament, All-Coaches first team, and a near miss All-America selection, failing by just a single point. The team captain, a leader and role model on and off the court, she was honored as the Rutgers-Newark Female Athlete of the Year in 1994.
Poetry in motion – the personification is Vangela Crowe Johnson.
