Minnesota Sports Forum

Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson is a bully on the basketball court. And the former No. 7-ranked high school player in the Class of 2014 has been since his freshman year at Mater Dei High School.

The 6-foot-7, 245-pound freshman -- who has been compared to Ron Artest, Kawhi Leonard and, yes, even LeBron James because of his size and strength -- is the Wildcats' leading scorer (14.7 points per game) and rebounder (6.8). The big question is: Can he continue his physical dominance at the NBA level? He is highly likely to leave for the NBA draft after his only season in Tucson. Let's have a look.


Film session
Similar to every other potential lottery pick, Johnson has a lot of strengths and some areas of his game that need improvement. But one of the huge advantages he has is that he will have played his entire freshman season as an 18-year-old, not turning 19 until May 29. The recent history of success for teenagers being selected in the lottery is high, and there's some upside remaining here.

At the NBA level, Johnson will be an average athlete for the small forward position. He does not have great lateral quickness, affecting him as a perimeter defender, and being an average two-footed jumper has led to being a 34 percent shooter at the rim in half-court situations, according to hoop-math.com.

What does stand out to me about Johnson is his high energy level. He has always been an aggressive, attacking player.

In transition, Johnson is dangerous. For his size, he is a very good ball handler in the open court. Watch how effortlessly and quickly he changes direction with the ball versus San Diego State in the Maui Invitational. He finishes at the other end with a nice scoop shot.

In the half court, Johnson's aggressiveness sometimes gets him in trouble. Early in the season, he was running over defenders in the lane because he tends to play out of control in traffic. Not surprisingly for a freshman, he has more turnovers than assists.

Arizona coach Sean Miller set up a late-game play for him in the Wildcats' 66-63 overtime win over Gonzaga at home in December. Watch how he spins out of control and travels before he attempts to shoot over the Zags' Domantas Sabonis and Przemek Karnowski deep in the lane. He has to recognize that, because of college rules, the lane can be packed with bodies.

A major part of Johnson's success is that that his aggressiveness manifests itself in a lot of trips to the foul line. He is drawing 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes, according to kenpom.com. That has turned into 134 free throw attempts so far this season.

Johnson is also grabbing more than two offensive rebounds per game, which he is turning into scoring chances. Against a very tough San Diego State team, watch him look like he is shot out of a cannon as he crashes the offensive glass from the perimeter. He shows some very good "second jump" ability, although he winds up not finishing the play.

Where Johnson has shown improvement is in his outside shooting. He's making 39 percent of his 3-point attempts (although he's only 8-for-24 in Pac-12 play) and is hitting nearly 50 percent of his 2-point jump shots, according to hoop-math.com.

Some have questioned his shooting stroke, but I see nothing in it that can't be corrected. First of all, his form is compact and has few moving parts, making it easily repeatable. And when he finishes with a high follow-through, the arc of his shot improves his accuracy.

Watch his shot preparation before he catches the pass from T.J. McConnell, and how effortless his follow-through is on this 3-point shot.

At the NBA level, he'll eventually learn that spot-up shooting will become a strength. And I would love to see him trust his one-dribble or two-dribble pull-up jump shot because finishing at the rim early in his career will be a challenge.

One area where Johnson can take advantage of his strength in the NBA would be in developing a post-up game a la the Blazers' 6-5 shooting guard Wesley Matthews. Because Arizona has a plethora of players who clog the lane on offense, Johnson has been used in post-up situations in less than four percent of his offensive possessions, according to Synergy.

Perimeter defense will present another challenge for Johnson.

First, there have been many possessions in Arizona's half-court defense this season in which Johnson has had a lack of concentration with regard to team defense. While it has been an issue, it is a very common occurrence with young players. It is something he can work to improve if he wants to play in the NBA.

The more important concern to me is lateral foot speed, which will affect his ability to defend dynamic NBA small forward athletes.

Watch how Stanford's Anthony Brown curls off a pin-down screen but Johnson is never able to get back in front of him. His effort level at the start of the play gets him in trouble, as well. That will change with maturity and experience.

Luckily for Johnson in his one season at Arizona under Miller, he is getting a defensive tutorial. Once he gets to the NBA and recognizes how critical it will be for him, he will embrace the chance to improve defensively.

I've been around Johnson at various all-star camps, talked with him and have talked with people who have coached him and know him well. He has a couple of major favorable intangibles.

First, he is a proven winner. He is the only player ever to win four straight upper-division state titles in California, and his teams went 135-5 in his high school career. He's also won three FIBA gold medals for USA Basketball.

Secondly, he is a gym rat and worker. He will have soaked up a season's worth of great coaching under Miller and the staff at Arizona. That type of coaching will continue in the NBA. So the weaknesses that I have pointed out will be worked on and improved. Given his age, his ceiling is very high.

Stanley leading the way for Zona tonight. 10 & 4 at the half with a block and a three made. Not sure how much he'll play in the second half if this lead stays the same or progresses, though.

Good article on D'Angelo Russell:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/whos-that-guy-ohio-states-dangelo-russell/

I think the guy is the best player in the draft. I hope we can get him. I think we go after a big though.

D Russell on ESPN later this morning looking forward to that.

TRKO wrote:Good article on D'Angelo Russell:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/whos-that-guy-ohio-states-dangelo-russell/

I think the guy is the best player in the draft. I hope we can get him. I think we go after a big though.

He would be hard to pass up that is for sure. I think if I was calling the shot I might risk it and pick him over Okafor.

Russell struggling today. Not his best game.

Yup, Russell didn't play as well as usual. Towns up next.....

Saw Russell today as well, and watching Towns now. Okafor is still #1 in my book.

Today was a struggle for damn near everybody. Russell, Towns and Okafor.