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| Team: Purdue, Junior |
| Physicals | Positions | Rankings | Misc |
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H: 6' 10"
W: 215 lbs
Bday: 02/08/1989
(20 Years Old)
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Current: PF/C
NBA: PF
Possible: PF
| Round: 1 Pick: 24 in 2011 Mock Draft
Rank 13 in NCAA Juniors
Rank 54 in Top 100 Prospects
RSCI: 48
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High School: Franklin Central
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
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| Basic Per Game Statistics - Comprehensive Stats - Statistical Top 25s |
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| NCAA Tournament Performers, 3/26/09-- Part Two
March 26, 2009
When we first wrote about JaJuan Johnson following his freshman season, in which he averaged just 5.4 points on 42% shooting in 16.6 minutes, many may have wondered how he even qualified as an NBA draft prospect. Fast forward to the end of his sophomore season, and it’s a lot easier to see why, as he’s playing 10 more minutes per game, has more than doubled his scoring average, is shooting 12% better from the field, and has seen his blocks, rebounds, free throw attempt and assist rates rise—even on a per-40 minute basis—while his foul rate has dropped. Just to make sure that the rest of the country caught on, Johnson exceeded all expectations by dropping 22 points on the Washington Huskies (to go along with 4 blocks) this past weekend in a very tough second round NCAA tournament victory, and now is headed to the Sweet 16 to take on Hasheem Thabeet and UConn.
Johnson’s offensive role expanded significantly this past season—going from shouldering a paltry 8% of Purdue’s possessions to a much more normal 17% this season. Lately he’s become even more important for them. While he’s still at his best cutting off the ball, running the floor in transition, crashing the offensive glass, and finishing pick and roll plays—thanks to his excellent length and athleticism--he’s become much more of a threat creating offense with his back to the basket in the post this season. His frame is still painfully underdeveloped, but he’s become much more adept at making quick, confident moves in the paint, to get off his turnaround jumper or jump-hook shots—which he shows terrific touch on. His very high release point (shooting the ball from way above his head) allows him to get his shot off even while being bodied up intensely, and he seems to have a great knack for just throwing the ball in the basket in difficult situations, which may hint at exciting things to come in the future.
Where Johnson may have improved the most is in his ability to face the basket. He shows comfortable range out to 16-18 feet, and does not hesitate at all to attempt jumpers when left open on the perimeter. He still needs to improve his ball-handling skills, but you can see that there is some potential here as well. It’s important that Johnson continues to improve on his perimeter skills, since he likely won’t be much of a factor on the interior in the NBA with his lack of strength—you can already see how he struggles to establish position inside and has a hard time finishing through contact around the rim.
Defensively, Johnson has the length and athleticism to be a real factor as a shot-blocker at the collegiate level, and he currently ranks in the top-20 in this category per-40 minutes pace-adjusted. Because of how nimble his feet are, he’s also able to step out and hedge screens fairly effectively, showing solid lateral quickness in the process. His lack of strength is a real problem against relatively productive big men, though, as he has a hard not giving up deep position in the paint, and can be backed down fairly easily in post-up situations. This would make him a pretty big liability at the higher levels of basketball, particularly the NBA.
On top of that, Johnson is an extremely poor rebounder, ranking amongst the worst players in college basketball at his position in the NCAA. His poor frame is obviously an issue here, but he also doesn’t show a great deal of hustle or toughness going outside of his area and cleaning the glass.
As talented a prospect as Johnson is, he still is very much a raw player who needs time to gain experience and continue to develop his all-around game. His lack of strength is a serious hindrance on both ends of the floor, and would make it nearly impossible for him to see minutes in the NBA until he addresses that problem in a major way. With that said, Johnson could be on the verge of a breakout season at the collegiate level next year, and will be a very interesting prospect to keep an eye on as a junior.
 [Read Full Article]
Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Big 10 (Part Two: #6-10)
September 13, 2008
5.4 points in 16.6 minutes per game usually doesn't scream NBA prospect to most people, but when you're a 6-10 super long and athletic big man with some budding skills, the predictions tend to be a bit more optimistic.
JaJuan Johnson played a fairly small role for Purdue as a freshman, garnering just under 8% of his team’s possessions. He did not do a great deal to show that he deserved a whole lot more with the 42% he shot from the field, but digging a bit deeper definitely preaches patience considering the basic tools he brings to the table.
Johnson is a very quick player both vertically and horizontally, looking especially impressive getting up and finishing around the basket. He has nice hands and the length and explosiveness to finish pretty much everything underneath the hoop if strength isn’t too much of a concern, and he draws fouls at a high rate to boot, showing decent touch from the free throw line in the process.
Most of his offense at the moment consists of running the floor in transition, grabbing offensive rebounds, making cuts to the rim, and playing pick and roll with his guards. At times he’ll throw in a little jump-hook or turnaround jumper, but nothing to get too excited about just yet. He has no left hand, extremely limited footwork inside the paint, and is about 20-25 pounds away from being capable of holding his spot on the block, which renders him fairly useless with his back to the basket.
From mid-range, Johnson will knock down a jump-shot from time to time (he even hit a 3-pointer in the NCAA tournament), but his footwork looks sloppy and he doesn’t show the polish to be very consistent at this point. His decision making skills just aren’t there yet, not a shock considering how early in the maturation process he appears to be both physically and experience wise, so we’re almost certainly looking at a 3-4 year player despite his extremely high upside.
Defensively, Johnson has great tools thanks to his length, size and athleticism, but he has no idea how to use them right now, getting backed down with ease in the post, and being abused from the outside as well due to his poor fundamentals and awareness. Johnson is too upright in his stance and thus struggles to move laterally on the perimeter, which usually makes him look more like he’s chasing his defender than he is containing him. He wasn’t much of a rebounder to compensate, grabbing just 7.5 boards per-40 minutes. Adding strength and doing a better job boxing out will probably help him in this area.
All in all, Johnson is an intriguing prospect who needs plenty of time and hard work before he can be considered anything more than a long-term project. He showed enough raw tools in his freshman year to be worthy of keeping an eye on, though.
[Read Full Article]
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