Call it destiny or call it living out a childhood dream, in either case, Ka'lia Johnson, a sophomore at Thomas Dale High, verbally committed to play women's basketball for the Duke Blue Devils on Friday.

Johnson's destiny to be a high school star was spawned through three generations, as grandmothers, mother and brother; all are or were basketball stars. During the days when Georgia played 6-player girls basketball paternal grandmother Juanita Johnson scored 55 points in a high school game, while maternal grandmother, Mary Fullmore, scored 51 points in a high school game.

Keshia Johnson, Kalia's mother, starred at point guard, for South Georgia Junior College. More recently, older brother Jay Johnson, starred at Patrick Henry Junior College and just two weeks ago, committed to play for Phieffer College in North Carolina.

Expectations for Ka'lia have always been high and in the past couple of years, she has received offers from many top women's basketball programs including: Virginia, Maryland, Syracuse, West Virginia, ODU, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, VCU, and Duke. But, despite their best efforts, Johnson has always dreamed of being a Duke Blue Devil.

As a pre-teen, she watched Duke Men's basketball team on television and cheered for Duke stars, JJ Redick and Shelden Williams. As a teenager, her love of Duke Basketball expanded to the women's program and she patterned much of her game after former Duke standout, Alana Beard and current point guard, Jasmine Thomas. Throughout, she dreamed of the day when she would play for the Duke Blue Devils.

That dream came true on Friday, when she gave her verbal commitment to Joanne McCallie, head coach of the Duke Blue Devils.

Although playing for the Blue Devils was Ka'lia's dream, her parents, Ken and Keshia Johnson wanted her to wait and consider other schools before making a decision. She visited Virginia and Maryland, and had planned on visiting West Virginia, UConn and Tennessee, this summer.

In the days leading up to her announcement, she called coaches from the two programs that she and her family were considering, Virginia and West Virginia. According to her father, Ken Johnson, Ka'lia felt strongly about both programs and really liked the coaching staffs and that put her in a predicament. Ken stated, "Coach Porcha (WVU) and Debbie Ryan (UVA) are really great people; but, she (Ka'lia) knew in her heart that she always wanted to go to Duke and she just didn't want to lead them on." Ken went on to say that Ka'lia has always loved Duke and there was probably nothing another coach could say or do, to change her mind.

Johnson, a 5-foot-10 inch, guard is regarded as one of the top players in the nation for the Class of 2011. She is ranked in the Top 10 by BlueStar Index and #13 by All Star Girls Report. Johnson credits much of her skill development to Bridget "Jam" Blair and Mike Davis of Three Point Line. Currently, she plays for Boo Williams Elite travel team, along side of many of the top players in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Her team recently won the prestigious Boo Williams Nike Invitational in Hampton, VA.

In high school, Johnson was named 1st Team All District, 1st Team All Region, Central Region's Player of the Year and VHSCA Second Team All-State, as voted on by the high school coaches association. Her team advanced to the second round of the Central Region tournament, where they were upset, when Johnson was medically unable to play due to a bout of strep throat.

At Duke, Johnson will have an opportunity to step in at point guard as a freshman, as her arrival will coincide with the graduation of Jasmine Thomas, the current starting point guard for Duke.