Offense
Strengths
• Exceptional athletic ability
• Able to create space to get off shot
• Uses leaping ability to get offensive rebounds
• Works the baseline well – can drive, post up, or hit the jumper
• Good job filling lanes and finishing in transition
• Good first step
Weaknesses
• Needs to be more assertive and look for more shots
• Gets frustrated by physical defenders
• Doesn’t get to foul line enough
• Needs to make sharper moves off of screens
• Turnover issues
Defense
Strengths
• Uses leaping ability to get rebounds
• Quick hands
• Good shot blocker
• Always seems to be around the ball
Weaknesses
• Not an active defender
• Plays almost exclusively in a zone defense, so tough to tell man-to-man skills
• Needs to be a more physical defender
• Gets caught off-balance and can be slow to close out on jump shots
Analysis
Johnson is one of the best athletes among the potential draftees. At times, he can seem to be playing the game at a different speed than everyone around him. He has spent a lot of time working on his skill set and has the ability to take over a game. He is a tremendous rebounder on both the offensive and defensive glass. While he puts up impressive offensive numbers, he needs to assert himself more on offense, especially by looking for more shots. Defensively, he plays almost exclusively in the back of Syracuse’s 2-3 Zone, so it can be tough to gauge his on-ball skills. However, he is such a good athlete that he should be able to adjust to playing more man defense. His skills should translate well at the professional level.
- Ed Isaacson