Hot Prospect: James Johnson

Posted by admin on June 20, 2009

Wake Forest ● Sophomore ● Forward ● 6-9 ● 245 ● 2/20/87

Highlights: Played two seasons at Wake Forest before leaving early for the 2009 NBA Draft … Became the third player in program history to leave early for the NBA, joining Rodney Rogers in 1993 and Chris Paul in 2005 … Two-time third team All-ACC honoree … Freshman All-American and runner-up for ACC Rookie of the Year in 2007-08 … Led the team in rebounding each of his two seasons … Finished his career with 508 career rebounds … Was one of the most athletic and versatile players in the ACC with the ability to play four of the five positions on the floor, from the two-guard spot to center … Spent the majority of his time playing at the small forward and power forward positions … Superior athletic ability stemmed partly from a martial arts background in kickboxing … Handled the ball very well for a big man and was a solid outside shooter … Possessed excellent jumping ability and was a powerful dunker.

2008-09 (Sophomore): Played in and started all 31 games … Named third team All-ACC for the second straight season … Received the highest number of votes of the third team honorees … Selected as a mid-season candidate for the Naismith Trophy and a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award … Led the team in rebounding for the second straight season, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game … Combined with Al-Farouq Aminu to become the fourth-best rebounding duo in program history, averaging a combined 16.7 rebounds per game … Ranked second on the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game … Played an average of 30.5 minutes per game … Led the Deacons in blocks (48), ranked second in steals (44) and was third in assists (62) … Shot a team-best 54.2 percent from the field … Averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds and shot 55.8 percent in ACC play … Posted 10 double-doubles on the year to finish with 18 for his career … Ranked third in the ACC in rebounding, second in defensive rebounds, third in field goal percentage, sixth in blocked shots and 17th in scoring … Scored in double figures 21 times and led the team in scoring in seven games … Led the Deacons in rebounding 18 times … Ranked third on the team with 27 dunks … Pulled down his 500th career rebound in Wake Forest’s ACC Tournament game against Maryland, becoming the 32nd member of Wake Forest’s 500 Rebound Club … Ended the year on a tear, averaging 19.8 points and 10.6 rebounds over his last eight games … Posted four double-doubles, had six 20+ point performances and shot 61.8 percent during the year-ending stretch … Hit the game-winning layup with 0.8 seconds left to beat Duke (Jan. 28) … Led the team with 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks vs. Cleveland State in the NCAA Tournament (Mar. 20).

2007-08 (Freshman): Saw action in all 31 games with 28 starts … Named third team All-ACC, becoming just the third Deacon freshman (Rodney Rogers, Chris Paul) to accomplish the feat … Unanimous selection for the ACC All-Freshman Team … Finished runner-up in voting for ACC Rookie of the Year … Named a Freshman All-American by multiple publications … Named ACC Rookie of the Week on Jan. 21 … Led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game … Became the first Deacon freshman in the ACC era to average at least 14 points and eight boards per game … Rebounding average was the 13th-highest average ever by an ACC freshman … Combined with Jeff Teague to become just the fourth set of freshmen to rank 1-2 on their team in scoring and the second duo to accomplish the feat with a winning record … Led Wake in scoring 11 times and in rebounding 18 times … Posted eight double-doubles on the year to rank fourth in the ACC … Scored 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting Mar. 8 vs. NC State … Had 10 points and nine rebounds in ACC Tournament loss to FSU on Mar. 13.

Is he Jazz material?

3 Comments

whaddup on June 20, 2009 said:

i hope he is around still when we pick @ #20 – he is a good one.

this guy... on June 21, 2009 said:

he was very smooth, confident; would likely be a good team leader to have on the floor and in the locker room. i would trade up to get him.

rikki on June 21, 2009 said:

i think he will be available at 20

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