2023 point guard Kennise Johnson-Etienne commits to Iowa women’s basketball

IOWA CITY — Kennise Johnson-Etienne certainly gets her basketball fix at Example Academy.

“We have three classes a day from 9 (a.m.) to noon,” she said. “Then it’s lunch and an open period. Then it’s an hour of weights, an hour of skills and three hours of practice.”

So she’ll be ready for the college basketball routine. It’s a routine she’ll pursue at the University of Iowa.

Johnson-Etienne committed to the Hawkeyes on Thursday as the first member of the Class of 2023.

“Just being around the team, they’ve very open. They never made me feel like an outsider,” Johnson-Etienne told The Gazette on Friday. “The coaches are so genuine. They honestly care about me.”

Johnson-Etienne is a 5-foot-7 point guard from Plainfield, Ill. She played at Plainfield Central through her sophomore season, then enrolled at Example Academy, an all-girls school, in Frankfort, Ill.

“Talking to alums, it really does prepare you for college,” she said. “We’re gone for weeks at a time, playing against other prep schools.”

Iowa’s other future commitment is Callie Levin of Solon (2024).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com