Johnson, Doolin among area athletes signing letters of intent

They may be coming in on the ground floor but they've pushed the elevator's "up" button.

Two area athletes -- Waubonsie Valley basketball player Jelani Johnson and Batavia volleyball standout Laura Doolin -- signed National Letters of Intent Wednesday with Division I programs that have struggled recently but are looking to improve under new leadership.

The 6-foot-3 Johnson is the lone early signee for first-year Western Illinois coach Jim Molinari, who inherits a program that won just 40 games the previous five seasons.

"We're building a program and changing a culture and we want to do as much as we can with Illinois athletes," Molinari said.

"We've gotta get good players with good character who come from good families and players with huge upsides. That's what I see with Jelani. He reminds me a lot of (6-6 Toronto Raptor guard-forward) Anthony Parker (who played for Molinari at Bradley before being drafted in the first round by the New Jersey Nets).

"Jelani is still growing. He's very long and he's not as strong as he's going to be. Really, he's a 747 with that long wingspan."

Molinari takes the job after one year as an assistant on the staff of Auroran Billy Taylor at Ball State but has a long track record both as a collegiate assistant and head coach with stops at DePaul, NIU, Bradley and Minnesota.

He thinks playing for former Eastern Illinois assistant Steve Weemer at Waubonsie Valley will be a plus for Johnson, who projects to be a perimeter player in college.

"He's a very good on-the-ball defender and he has to continue to improve his in-between game and his play off the ball," said the former NIU and Bradley coach who also worked on the staffs of Ray and Joey Meyer during a long stint at DePaul.

"People like Jelani are going to be the foundation of our program."

Doolin was an outside hitter for coach Lori Trippi-Payne's Bulldogs and led the team with 274 kills, 48 aces, 225 digs and 91 percent serve receive. She was recruited, however, as a setter by Braves' first-year coach Sean Burdette, who will be losing a senior off this year's 5-21 team at that spot.

"That's my main position in club ball at Sports Performance in Aurora," said Doolin, who will compete with another setter recruit for playing time

"We'll compete for playing time plus having two setters gives you more options, there are more offenses you can run," continued Doolin. "My sophomore year (at Batavia) we ran a 6-2 so I got to play setter and hitter. I really enjoy hitting and passing and playing defense, too, so playing outside in high school has been a nice break (from setting)."

Doolin selected the Peoria school, where she plans to major in international studies, over Loyola, Temple and Wright State.

"I really like the campus. It's not too small but it's not huge, either," she said. "And I liked the homey atmosphere and what the new coaching staff is doing.‰

It includes assistant Savanah Parra, who was a successful setter on an Ohio University team that dominated the Mid-American Conference during her recent tenure there as a player.