The welcome to the pros for Raven Johnson came with a warning label, courtesy of her new Indiana Fever teammate, Sophie Cunningham. Johnson, being Fever’s first-round pick in the WNBA Draft, is currently one of the hottest prospects at Indiana, but that also comes with a few challenges that Cunningham recently addressed.

Speaking on the Show Me Something podcast, Cunningham opened up about Johnson after a single day of training with her in the training camp, first offering high praise for the former South Carolina player before issuing an early warning for every rookie like her.

“Raven Johnson is a freaking dog,” Cunningham said. “We had our first day at training camp, and I just like love her. I think she’s going to be fantastic. Great defensive player. Just a really sweet girl and a great teammate so far. So, I’m a big fan.”

“I think when you come to a new team, especially, you know, the jump from high school to college is completely different. College to pros is also completely different,” Cunningham added further. “So, as a rookie, depending on the kind of who you are and what you bring to the table, but it’s best to be sponge, but if you’re vocal, still be vocal. But I think it’s best also to stay in your lane like do what you do best. If that’s like defense or freaking assist, then go all in on that. Like don’t be anything you’re not. ”

On paper, Johnson’s addition to the Fever roster is worth more than gold. Her numbers at South Carolina, of course, don’t do justice to the impact she has had on Dawn Staley’s team all these years. Her prowess on the court is much more than just the 6.7 career points she had across her collegiate career. To understand her impact, you’ll have to watch clips of how she dictates the play on the court.

To be fair, Raven Johnson was never a fierce scoring guard like Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. Her prowess lies in dishing out assists and becoming a wall to lock down the opposition’s best perimeter players. And as Cunningham feels that this skill set is what Johnson must look to focus on the court during her Indiana days, and not delve into out-of-the-box skill sets that she isn’t used to.

Of course, it’s a great learning experience for Johnson, especially coming from someone like Cunningham, who has been on the WNBA circuit for 7 years now. Furthermore, in her rookie year with the Indiana Fever, Johnson might also end up getting complacent and try too hard to impress with too many things, which Cunningham is basically sounding the alarm on while also balancing it with a bit of praise for Johnson’s work ethic and defensive work.

On similar lines, in the Indiana Fever, the defensive front is where Johnson’s importance lies. She will need to bring that collegiate prowess (1.5 steals per game across her five years) to this pro circuit as well and help defensively formidable perimeter players like Lexie Hull. Fever head coach Stephanie White also echoed the same sentiment while reflecting on picking Johnson on draft night.

“She’s set the tone at every level,” White said. “She’s immediately ready on the defensive end of the floor, which is something that we need. We need somebody who can come and make an impact on that end of the floor.” With the skill set Johnson has, she has a high ceiling with Fever in the future, provided she can quickly catch the game’s tempo and blend well with the team’s chemistry, especially with players like Caitlin Clark, with whom she has a brief history.

With Sophie Cunningham also returning to Fever on a one-year contract, it is also a likely scenario in the upcoming season that she will also have to share the backcourt with Raven Johnson. It will be interesting to see how these two role players complement each other during that time. But for now, Cunningham’s attention shifts towards an even more important element of the Indiana Fever: team dynamics.

Sophie Cunningham Previews How the New Free Agency Players Can Help the Indiana Fever

Johnson isn’t the only addition the Fever has made this season; several other new players can make substantial contributions to the team. In a free-agency market, the Fever have brought in players to build around its core players. Now, Cunningham has spared a moment to outline the skill sets that some of these players bring to the team.

“We kind of have a new roster. We have Monique Billings. She is a very strong physical athletics four rim runner who can grab every freaking offensive board and can dunk. So, we’ll take that. We also find Myisha Hines-Allen, also a very physical great player, more of a post player,” Cunningham said in her podcast.

Of course, these additions are quite vital for the Indiana Fever, besides the first round pick, Raven Johnson, considering their skill sets. For instance, Billings brings extensive experience, having played for teams such as the Phoenix Mercury and the Golden State Valkyries.

As Cunningham stated, she’s a great rebounder, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game throughout her career. Similar to Billings, Hines-Allen is also a formidable frontcourt player and is a slightly better scorer than Billings while also boasting great prowess on the boards and defensive work near the paint. These additions are even more important for the franchise, given the roster revamp the team has undergone.

It’s important to understand that Indiana did quite a good job in bringing back players like Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham. On the contrary, the franchise has also lost players like Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner, which will make it even more important for these new faces to click with the team instantly.

All in all, the team does have a pretty good mix of seniors and youth. But for the team to succeed, the senior players in Mitchell and Cunningham, along with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, will have to do most of the heavy lifting and not leave it entirely to the new additions in the upcoming season.