Wesmen legend heading to Canadian basketball HOF

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This article was published 06/06/2022 (1522 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Athletes dream of representing their country at the international stage, but Angie Johnson had a choice to make.

Did she want to wear the Maple Leaf in basketball or volleyball?

Johnson, a premier athlete out of John Taylor Collegiate who had national team coaches from both sports knocking on her door, opted to go the basketball route.

It’s safe to say she chose wisely.

Last week, Canada Basketball revealed Johnson will be inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame at a ceremony July 10 in Toronto. Johnson, now 69 and residing in Victoria, B.C., is already a member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame, and Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Johnson is the fifth Manitoban (and first female from the province) to be inducted into the national hoops HOF, joining Fred Ingaldson, Todd MacCulloch, Martin Riley and Carl Ridd.

“This is the pinnacle of my career. To be recognized by the country that you played for and represented is pretty gratifying and very humbling,” said Johnson, speaking by phone to the Free Press on Monday.

Johnson will share the stage with some elite company as she is being enshrined alongside the most accomplished player in Canadian history, two-time NBA most valuable player Steve Nash.

“I have to tell you, one of my grandson’s is named after Steve Nash. His first name is Nash… So, I’ll have to get an autograph,” Johnson said.

Johnson made the senior women’s national team in 1972 as a first-year player with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. That same year, she led the U of W to a junior Canadian title, marking the first time a women’s basketball team from Manitoba had won a national championship. In four seasons with the Wesmen (1972-76), Johnson was a four-time first-team division all-star and guided the school to three conference championships.

“We were in Grade 9 at the same time and we used to play at Laura Secord Elementary School in the summer. It’d be all boys except for Angela. We were, I think, 15 years old at the time and I hate to say this, but she was probably the best basketball player on the court,” said Johnson’s husband, David Synnott, who played for the Wesmen from 1971-73. The two dated when they were younger and reconnected 16 years ago.

“If you wanted to get a rebound, it was very difficult to get around her. She was very strong and tenacious. We’d play a lot of one on one in those days and Angela would beat me very regularly. She was an excellent shooter. If she got the ball between 20-25 feet of the basket, it was going in and there wasn’t anything you could do about it.”

Johnson travelled the world with Team Canada, competing in the 1972 World University Games in Moscow, the 1973 World Championships in Colombia, the ‘75 Pan Am Games in Mexico City, and the Olympics in Montreal a year later.

“Who knows if I had taken the volleyball route where that would’ve led me? Basketball has been amazing for me and to me,” Johnson said.

“The people, the travelling, it was an opportunity I appreciated so much.”

Johnson, who has a son, Adam, and a daughter, Danica, from her first marriage, moved to Vancouver Island in 1987 and taught for 20 years at St. Andrew’s High School. She continued to play competitive senior women’s basketball into her 50s.

“I remember in high school being sort of disappointed when school holidays came because the gyms closed,” said Johnson. “… Of course, they didn’t have a women’s NBA (at the time). I never took part in sports because I was going to be great, you know, it just felt pretty darn good extending yourself to the fullest.

“I think just that competitive nature in me allowed me to become the best that I could be.”

On induction day, Johnson will be thinking of her mother, Alice, who passed away in October at the age of 101.

“She was my greatest supporter. She’d be so proud.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31