Profiling the guard from Arizona.
In one of the craziest tournaments in recent memory, Arizona guard Nick Johnson saw his impressive collegiate career come to a devastating conclusion in the Elite 8 after a crushing 64-63 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers. After a highly impressive junior season that earned Johnson consensus First Team all-American honors, the combo guard decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the NBA.
With three years college ball, Johnson is one of the most experienced prospects in this class. Johnson improved in each of his three seasons at Arizona; taking a significant jump from his sophomore to his junior season. As a sophomore Johnson posted 11.5 points per contest while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor to go along with 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists. As a junior Johnson proceeded to score 16.3 points per game (eighth in Pac-12) on 43.2 percent shooting with 4.1 boards and 2.8 assists.
One of the primary issues revolving around Johnson is his humdrum size. Most scouts believe Johnson is best fit to play shooting guard, but he’s an inch or two smaller than your typical NBA off guard. While Johnson is capable of playing some point and has good leadership traits, he’s not a true playmaker and I don’t believe he’s savvy enough of a decision maker to ever be a true starter in the NBA at the point.
There is still a ton to like in Johnson’s game. He is a phenomenal athlete with great explosiveness, and is an outstanding competitor. These traits make Johnson a strong defender that has the ability to defend both guard positions. Johnson never gives up on a play and finished with 1.9 steals per game in 2013-2014, fourth best in the Pac-12. It’s widely agreed that Johnson has more potential as a defender than an offensive player in the NBA. With a defensive rating of 92.4 (fifth in Pac-12) Johnson was one of the best defensive guards in the country last season.
Johnson isn’t lacking on the offensive end however. While he saw his efficiency drop after assuming a larger role as a junior, Johnson possesses a lot of valuable traits on offense and his offensive rating of 112.9 as a junior was good for seventh in the Pac-12. There isn’t one strength in Johnson’s offensive game that stands out above the rest, but he does know how to use his speed to his advantage especially in transition when the floor opens up a bit. Additionally, Johnson is a pretty solid shooter; he shot 36.7 percent on three point attempts as a junior and 39.3 percent as a sophomore.
While I’m not sure Johnson will ever be an every day starter on a contending team, I think he can be a great energy guy off the bench who can make an impact on both ends of the floor. In most drafts he would probably be selected in the first round, but this draft is so good I would expect him to be selected at the beginning of the second round — a huge bargain at that point in the draft.
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