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11 - Brice Johnson

6-10, 210 Power Forward
North Carolina Senior
Birthday
06/27/94 (29.7 yrs)
Hometown
Orangeburg, SC
High School
Edisto
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
9
Size
9
Defense
7
Strength
6
Quickness
8
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
8
NBA Ready
8
Rebounding
8
Potential
8
Post Skills
7
Intangibles
7

NBA Comparison: Taj Gibson

Strengths: The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Johnson has the perfect mix of scoring instincts, size, and mobility … He’s a long, wiry, and top level athlete with great athleticism … His game is very efficient … He maintains a high-efficiency rate no matter if his usage rate is up or down from game-to-game … Doesn’t force the issue offensively and plays within himself … He’s a player who opts to take good shots …. As a result, he shoots a high percentage from the field … Very effective as a scorer around the basket and at the rim (scores on put backs and alley oops) … A skilled finisher around the rim and seems to have a knack for being at the right place at the right time … Possess a soft touch on his jumpers and around the rim … Explosive in the open court … Gets out on the fast break and runs the floor extremely well … Very mobile/agile and coordinated for a player his size … Can outrun other bigs in transition and beat them to open spots where he can easily score … Loves to play above the rim and is aided by his quick leaping abilities …Very good dunker … He has a reliable 15-foot jump shot … Shows a good form and high release … Looks capable of expanding his range even further … Uses the glass nicely on some of his jumpers … Has made significant strides in his free throw shooting to this point (shot 57 percent as a freshman and is currently shooting 80 percent as a senior) … Shows consistency in rebounding his own misses … Tremendous second leaper … Defensively, his length, explosiveness, and quickness give him great potential … Moves well enough for his size … He can lock up his opponents when he’s fully engaged on the defensive end … Has improved as a shot blocker … Has really nice upside overall … A very dependable and reliable player on both ends of the floor … Has a mature game and high IQ …

Weaknesses: He’s built into his frame quiet nicely since arriving at UNC in 2012, but continuing to add strength and bulk will be a major area of focus so that he can hold his own at the next level … It remains to be seen if he can develop into a consistent floor spacer; as almost all of his offensive production comes inside the paint … Shows some reluctance to shoot outside the paint at times … Not sure if he’ll be as much of a back-to-basket player at the next level due to his wiry frame … Can continue to show improvement in his feel for the game, meaning his court vision and passing ability … Doing so will allow teams to operate their offense through him outside of the paint and on the perimeter … Puts up strong rebounding numbers but he’ll sometimes shy away from physical contact on the boards … Has to continue to work harder on boxing out his opponents … He relies heavily on his length, quickness and instincts when going after loose balls; at the next level, he may not be able to rely only on these tools to be the elite rebounder he is at the college level … Johnson’s instincts on the defensive end could show improvement as well … Gets caught biting on pump fakes often … Sometimes looks to be out of sync with what’s happening on the floor … Close out speed and technique needs work … Struggles to defend quicker players outside of the paint … Gets in foul trouble easily when defending stronger players in the post because of his skinny frame … Needs to work on consistently defending in a low stance … Needs to work on keeping his intensity level up on defense …

Overall: Johnson stepped foot in Chapel Hill as a top-50 prospect in the class of 2012 … Despite his 6-foot-9, 187-pound lanky frame, he boasted a ton of potential on both ends of the floor … Since then, he’s become a pillar for UNC for the majority of his collegiate career … The South Carolina native is currently in the middle of his senior season with the no. 5 ranked Tar Heels and is having his best season yet, averaging 16.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest … This season figures to be his most important as the Tar Heels are considered to be in contention for Final Four spot, and it’s his final chance to show scouts that would be a viable addition to an NBA team’s roster … The senior forward has the combination of athleticism and scoring prowess that will definitely attract the eye of some teams at the next level … He’s a very productive player although his overall skillset seems to be limited … Johnson is one of the most agile and explosive big men in college basketball, and not many players at his position can finish around the hoop as well as he can … Expanding his shooting range, improving his feel for the game, and tightening up some loose ends on the defensive end will ease his transition to the next level … Teams will take a chance on him given his upside and potential to further develop his body frame …

Tajh Jenkins 1/13/16

August 3, 2011

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