Johnson in the mix to be the No. 2 power forward off the board
Leap of Faith
by Keith Langlois


EDITOR’S NOTE: Pistons.com continues its draft series with the second of a dozen profiles of players who figure to be under consideration by the Pistons for their pick at No. 15 in the first round of the June 25 draft. Today’s installment looks at Wake Forest forward James Johnson.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Teams in the market for a power forward in the 2009 NBA draft are going to have to take a leap of faith – at least teams other than the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers beat the lottery odds to snare the No. 1 pick, which means they’ll get the player scouts view as the one sure thing in this draft, regardless of position – Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin.

After Griffin, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. DeJuan Blair probably stands about 6-foot-7 and plays below the rim, even though he was tremendously productive in the Big East for Pitt. Then there are three other players – Louisville’s Earl Clark, Gonzaga’s Austin Daye and Wake Forest’s James Johnson – who some see as small forwards, some see as power forwards, a few see as potential stars and others see as tweeners with cloudy futures.

To be sure, there is much to like about Johnson. He’s about 6-foot-8, maybe 6-foot-9, and a solid 245 pounds. He’s above average athletically, though less than freakish. He’s got a long wing span, a nice shooting touch and fine ballhandling ability.

It sounds a lot, in fact, like the way you’d describe Walter Sharpe, the roll of the dice the Pistons took in last June’s draft, trading out of the first round by a few spots to pick up an extra second-round pick when they didn’t see anyone at 27 that intrigued them.

But Johnson does have two years of a resume at Wake Forest to recommend him. He averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game for the Deacons, shooting an impressive .542 from the floor. He isn’t shy about shooting it beyond the arc, either, and has good form on his jumper, though – like most young players – the consistency on his perimeter shot isn’t there yet. Johnson shot .319 from the arc. He actually took more as a freshman than a sophomore, though he was more accurate this season.

Johnson came out of Cheyenne, Wyo., hardly known for producing high school basketball talent, and flew under the radar. Scouts are going to have to decide how much room for growth he has, weighing the fact that only within the last few years has he faced high-level competition against his age. At 22, Johnson is significantly older than most college sophomores.

But he’s undeniably gifted. Over a three-game stretch late in Wake Forest’s season against ACC foes Georgia Tech, Duke and North Carolina State, Johnson averaged 26 points and 13.3 rebounds a game.

Johnson is a devotee of mixed martial arts – not watching them, participating in them. His athleticism is revealed in his ability to do back flips, his footwork and strong hands evident from his skill as an MMA fighter.

How that translates to basketball ability is something scouts will be asking themselves. Pistons strength training guru Arnie Kander is masterful at integrating physical components stressed in activities outside of basketball into the whole of a basketball player’s makeup, so he’ll be able to assess the value of Johnson’s unique MMA skills to his future as a basketball player. But it at least speaks to his fearlessness. As a teen-ager, he filled in at the last minute when an event card short on participants needed someone to take on a skilled and experienced MMA fighter.

Johnson’s Wake Forest team, which rose to No. 1 in January, ended the season in a downward spiral that saw them bounced from the ACC tournament’s first round by Maryland and the NCAA tournament’s first round by lightly regarded Cleveland State. And the Deacons were seen as having three lottery-worthy players – in addition to Johnson, sophomore point guard Jeff Teague (another player we’ll profile in this series) and freshman big man Al-Farouq Aminu (who probably would have gone higher than his teammates but chose another year at Wake Forest).

Whether Wake’s second-half collapse will reflect poorly on Johnson … well, that’s another question scouts are going to have to ask themselves.


Selling Points – Yesterday’s “tweener” is today’s coveted versatility. Johnson has the ballhandling and shooting skills to play the three and the size and athleticism to play near the rim. … His ability to be at times dominant in the ACC suggests he’ll be ready to step into an NBA rotation immediately and eventually become an above-average starter. … The competitiveness that drove him into mixed martial arts should serve him well in the NBA. … He’s got innate scoring and rebounding ability that should translate to the NBA.

Buyer Beware – Some question Johnson’s basketball IQ. … One of the theories advanced to explain Wake’s late-season pratfall was players like Johnson and Teague were concerned about showcasing their skills for NBA scouts and put team needs second. … Johnson’s advanced age will cause some GMs to downgrade him; for others, it will be of little concern. … Can he guard legitimate power forwards in the post? Can he stay in front of upper-echelon small forwards on the perimeter?

All we need from the draft are back ups any way.The trade is were we will get our core players.