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23 - James Johnson

6-8, 257 Small Forward
Wake Forest Sophomore
Birthday
02/20/87 (37.1 yrs)
Hometown
Cheyenne, WY
High School
Cheyenne East
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
9
Defense
7
Strength
8
Quickness
8
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
7
NBA Ready
8
Ball Handling
8
Potential
9
Passing
8
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: Danny Granger/Ryan Gomes

Strengths: Extremely skilled and versatile forward … Great physical package, combining size, strength, athleticism and an impressive 7’1 wingspan … His frame is very nicely developed, with strong shoulders and a wide base …He has a very refined scoring touch and knows how to put the ball in the basket … Proved that he is very comfortable handling the ball in all situations, including in transition while going full speed and still keeping his head up, looking to make plays … Has shown that he excels in a point forward role, where he can use his playmaking ability to create for teammates and himself … He has advanced moves off the dribble; hesitation, crossover, spins, in& outs as well as nice ability to make a second counter move … Has a lot of confidence in his outside shot, and proved that he has range beyond the college 3 … … Operates nicely out of the triple threat, where he utilizes a good shot fake as well as long jabs that get the defender off balance … His game is extremely potent out of the mid to high post where he can face up and attack or back people down … He is very comfortable going to and finishing with both hands … Using his size and length while attacking, he is able to protect the ball and finish with extreme efficiency … He’s good at keeping his balance while attacking contact, which gives him a good chance to convert in traffic and against help defense … Has become very confident operating on the block with his back to the basket … His wide base allows him to get good position, where he can seal and receive the ball very deep … He has nice patience inside, a variety of moves and extremely good footwork which makes him a difficult match up … Can effectively turn to both shoulders … Uses a nice spin move, where he covers a lot of ground but can still keep his balance … Is very aggressive going to the glass, and likes crashing the O glass … Has improved his stats across the board in his sophomore season …

Weaknesses: Has battled inconsistency throughout his career … Does not show up to play every night and has stretches where he disappears completely, not only as a scorer but in other facets as well …. He is 2 years older than his class, taking off some potential for growth … Is a bit heavy legged which limits his 1st step … His shooting numbers have improved but he is still a very streaky and somewhat inconsistent shooter from the outside … He takes a lot of bad shots early in the shot clock and out of the offense … Settles from the outside, and does not always get to the basket … Goes for the homerun play and forces the action too often, especially in transition when he attacks even without numbers …. Needs to learn to control the tempo better, and mix the pace up … Defensively, he doesn’t move well laterally and is foul prone, but with his length and physical package he should be able to overcome … Continues to shoot a mediocre percentage from the line (69%) …

Borko Popic – 5/31/2009

 

Strengths: James is a very solid all around player and a great scorer … He is a smooth athlete that moves very fluidly without the ball … He is multitalented, and brings all the intangibles to the game … He can break down defenders off the dribble, shoot from long range, and dunk in traffic … His mid range game is stellar, as he uses pull-up jumpers, fade aways, and leaners to get points … He shot 65% from the floor last year and has very efficient footwork … He is a long and aggressive defender with quick feet and good size for the 2 or 3 in the NBA … At his current level of play he can guard much bigger or quicker players because of his all around talent … James likes to disrupt play by sneaking into passing lanes and even blocks shots on occasion … His body is well developed and Johnson also has a very impressive 6’11 wingspan …

Weaknesses: James is from Cheyenne, WY and had limited exposure to college recruiters until the 2006 Nike Camp where he asserted himself as a top talent and leader on the court … He needs more upper body strength, but is a very complete player with a lot of upside … He should improve his free throw shooting … He shows the ability to take over games, but doesn’t always assert himself unless his teammates begin to rely on him …

Joshua Motenko – 12/10/2006

YouTube Clip – 3/19/2009

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