When Keisha Johnson came to Arizona she was a player torn between basketball and volleyball.

In her two years as a Wildcat, she has played both sports, but last year she made a choice to give up collegiate basketball and be a volleyball player.

When she was recruited in 1994, it was by volleyball head coach Dave Rubio. He knew she was a 5-foot-8 All-East Bay selection and the most valuable player of her league in high school. But what he didn't know was he would have to share her with women's basketball head coach Joan Bonvicini.

"We originally recruited her unbeknownst to Joan," Rubio said. "I told Joan about her and she did some research and found out that she was one of the top posts in California."

Arizona may not have known about Johnson's basketball prowess, but many other schools did. She was recruited to play basketball by Florida, Texas A&M and California. The problem with those schools was that they wouldn't let her play volleyball.

"The decision to come to Arizona was an easy one when I found out that I could play basketball and volleyball," Johnson said.

Once she got to campus the dilemma began.

She redshirted her first year in volleyball and left the team early to begin the basketball season. She played nine minutes a game for Bonvicini, averaging 2.2 points and 2.0 rebounds. Because of her outstanding vertical jump, Johnson started 10 games just to get the opening tip.

"Keisha played until Oct. 14, then she went to play basketball, losing close to three months of training," Rubio said. "I think that for Keisha to realize her potential in either sport she needed to choose one."

In 1995, Johnson chose to play volleyball full-time and in turn played well enough to earn a spot on the Pacific 10 Conference all-freshman team.

In that season she played in 67 games and was fifth on the team in kills with 97, averaging 1.44 kills per game. She peaked against Washington State, when she racked up 16 kills.

Despite a solid freshman season, Johnson said she is not still satisfied with her play.

"I just think I'm OK," she said. "I think what makes me able to become better is that I want to block every ball."

Johnson has stood out this year on a team full of talented players. Six of Arizona's 12 players are middle blockers. With such depth at the position, Johnson's play has been limited.

"I think we benefit from having depth," Johnson said. "Sometimes you have bad games and it's nice to have someone to step up for you."

Rubio said he has mixed emotions about starting players over Johnson. He said he knows that game experience is where she will learn the most, but says that she is not ready to play all the time.

"The thing that Keisha is doing now is that she is making higher level plays more often," Rubio said. "She has improved her ability to evaluate and respond to situations in the right way. She does need to learn to take care of the ball every time she touches it."

This season Johnson has played in 26 of the 33 games and is sixth on the team in kills, third among middle blockers. She is averaging 1.42 kills per game even though she has started in only three matches. Against Wright State, Johnson led the team in blocks with three.

This year will only be a stepping stone for Johnson, who hopes in the future to become a leader like Arizona's dominating outside hitter Barb Bell.

"I think I always was that player (in high school)," Johnson said. "That's definitely a goal for me in my last years to become a leader and a go-to player."

Rubio said he thinks that Johnson can help fill the void that will be left when Bell graduates this year.

"She will, because of her athleticism and because she's so dynamic," Rubio said. "Predicated on that, you feel that in her junior and senior year she will be one of the best players in the Pac-10."

Being one of the best players in the Pac-10 is not Johnson's only goal.

"I don't really say this, but in the back of my mind I guess my ultimate goal is to play in Australia in the next Olympics," she said.

If her volleyball dreams don't come true, she will still have her degree in communications and hopes to pursue a career in that direction. But that's not all.

"I want to go into broadcasting," Johnson said. "After school, though, I want to take some time and be a fireman. It seems really exciting. Before I came to school I wanted to be a policeman but that seems too dangerous."

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