Damian Johnson's NBA future?

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GopherFish

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I think Damian's game translates to the NBA. Wesley Johnson is considered a top prospect. DJ doesn't score or rebound as well as Wesley, but every other part of his game is similar or better. They are both listed as 6"7 and both were raw unheralded prospects who developed a nice overall game.

I think Damian warrants an early to mid second round selection in the NBA draft and think he is a nice sleeper pick. Barring injury, I think he could well have a nice long career as a defensive disruptive wing player who can do a little of everything to help a club. As a Wolves fan, I hope they draft him.
 

GopherFish said:
I think Damian's game translates to the NBA. Wesley Johnson is considered a top prospect. DJ doesn't score or rebound as well as Wesley, but every other part of his game is similar or better. They are both listed as 6"7 and both were raw unheralded prospects who developed a nice overall game.

I think Damian warrants an early to mid second round selection in the NBA draft and think he is a nice sleeper pick. Barring injury, I think he could well have a nice long career as a defensive disruptive wing player who can do a little of everything to help a club. As a Wolves fan, I hope they draft him.
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Comparing him to Wesley Johnson is a huge stretch. I think DJ can get invited to summer camps, and who knows, could latch on... but I don't see him getting drafted.
 

No chance he gets drafted..he doesn't have enough offense outside of 12 feet.
 

GopherFish said:
I think Damian's game translates to the NBA. Wesley Johnson is considered a top prospect. DJ doesn't score or rebound as well as Wesley, but every other part of his game is similar or better. They are both listed as 6"7 and both were raw unheralded prospects who developed a nice overall game.
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Um, that's two pretty big aspects of basketball there lol. He is nice, but his offensive game is gonna restrict him from getting looks I think. If he had a consistent jumper, that'd open things up for him so much more.
 



NBA

Westbrook and Johnson will both have nice careers overseas. Johnson is kinda similar to T. Bennett.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Comparing him to Wesley Johnson is a huge stretch. I think DJ can get invited to summer camps, and who knows, could latch on... but I don't see him getting drafted.
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I really am not sure if he gets drafted or not, as there isn't much difference between 2nd round talent and the top free agents. But he certainly has potential to blossom into a productive pro. He is a hard worker and very smart and if he can continue the progress he's made at the U, he'll make some team very happy.
 


I wonder if this is eligible for the Common Man's "Preposterous Statement of the Year Tournament".
 




Not a chance, Vincent Grier had much better defense and much better offense and he did not get drafted or stay in the league long. DJ has no future in the NBA
 

He's also all of 120 lbs soaking wet, and disappears against bigger, athletic opponents. Nice college player but he ought to get his degree.
 




If Wesley Johnson can get so much hype, I'm surprised DJ isn't getting more love. As recruits they were both listed as 6"7, 190 pounds and both have very good wing spans. DJ was rated higher than Wesley Johnson as a recruit. DJ was a three star and Wesley Johnson was a two star. Texas A&M offered DJ and passed on Wesley Johnson. DJ's numbers were better overall than WJ until this last year.

I'm a little surprised by the lack of love for DJ by his own fans. He definitely can be a good defensive player in the NBA. I guess we'll see what happens.
 

Art Vandelay said:
I wonder if this is eligible for the Common Man's "Preposterous Statement of the Year Tournament".
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I think your latest entry suggesting the Gophers could win the Big Ten this year is easily a better candidate.
 


Johnson vs. Johnson

GopherFish said:
If Wesley Johnson can get so much hype, I'm surprised DJ isn't getting more love. As recruits they were both listed as 6"7, 190 pounds and both have very good wing spans. DJ was rated higher than Wesley Johnson as a recruit. DJ was a three star and Wesley Johnson was a two star. Texas A&M offered DJ and passed on Wesley Johnson. DJ's numbers were better overall than WJ until this last year.
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Current stats:

Wesley Johnson 16.2 ppg, 8.8 reb, shooting 41% from three point land, 54% from the field
- top scorer and rebounder on a team who is 24-1 and ranked third in the country

DJ 10.3 ppg, 3.8 reb, shooting 31% from three point land, 54% from the field
- third leading scorer on a team who is struggling to find an identity and is longing for senior leadership and someone to step up.

If Wesley was on this team, I believe we could add at least three wins.

I love DJ, but DJ's numbers have never been better than Wesley's. Wesley averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds as a true freshman at Iowa State. DJ has never reached those averages as a Gopher.

You make a good point about why recruiting services are often a crap shoot. Wesley was a late commitment to Iowa State during his senior year in high school. He really was a "sleeper" in that people were down on the commitment and thought that McDermott was just trying to fill the roster with a warm body. He blossomed immediately. After his sophomore year (12 ppg again), people got in his ear about how the system he was in did not showcase his talents. Transfers to Syracuse and has been a huge piece to their puzzle. Only concern is their 2-3 zone does not show what he can do defensively, good or bad.
 

If, I said IF, DJ had a great 3pt shot, he could potentially be a bruce bowen type defensive stopper. But at his size if you can't knock down the 3..you won't see the court in the NBA.
 

GopherFish said:
If Wesley Johnson can get so much hype, I'm surprised DJ isn't getting more love. As recruits they were both listed as 6"7, 190 pounds and both have very good wing spans. DJ was rated higher than Wesley Johnson as a recruit. DJ was a three star and Wesley Johnson was a two star. Texas A&M offered DJ and passed on Wesley Johnson. DJ's numbers were better overall than WJ until this last year.

I'm a little surprised by the lack of love for DJ by his own fans. He definitely can be a good defensive player in the NBA. I guess we'll see what happens.
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Have you seen Wes play?

World's apart.
 

I feel like if I gave 10 to 1 odds that DJ doesn't get drafted and never makes an NBA roster I'd be winning that bet easily. For example Robbie Hummel is ranked as the 100th best NBA prospect and I fell like I'd take him way over DJ

But you never know for example like Mario West defensive specialist for the Atlanta Hawks

Senior Season for MW 18.5 mpg 4.7 ppg .519 fg% .281 3p% .708 ft% 2.4 rpg 1.47 apg .333 bpg 1.44 spg

Senior Season for DJ 25.1 mpg 10.3 ppg .543 fg% .316 3p% .688 ft% 3.8 rpg 2.1 apg 2.0 bbg 2.2 spg

Looking at this you think DJ is a better offensive and defensive player so I guess you never know...
 

I love DJ. He has good length and a high basketball IQ. He does not, in no way though, have even close to Wesley Johnson's athleticism.

He is the most versatile defensive player in the Big Ten. But as a forward he is a poor rebounder with a below average jumper and below average handles.
 

If Brian Cardinal can play for the Wolves why cant Dame????
 

GopherFish said:
I think Damian's game translates to the NBA. Wesley Johnson is considered a top prospect. DJ doesn't score or rebound as well as Wesley, but every other part of his game is similar or better. They are both listed as 6"7 and both were raw unheralded prospects who developed a nice overall game.

I think Damian warrants an early to mid second round selection in the NBA draft and think he is a nice sleeper pick. Barring injury, I think he could well have a nice long career as a defensive disruptive wing player who can do a little of everything to help a club. As a Wolves fan, I hope they draft him.
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Huh? Nothing against DJ, but I would take even a lesser Wesley Johnson over him any day.

Wesley stats: 16 pts, 9 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks per game.
DJ stats: 10 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blks per game.

Not to mention Wesley plays on a team with likely 4-5 other NBA players, and is the best out of all of them. Not to mention he plays in the Big East, where they have 4 of the top 10 teams in the country.

DJ has been a solid contributor, and has improved significantly, and will play professionally somewhere, but comparing his prospects to Wesley Johnson is not a fair comparison to either player.
 

TWeber said:
Current stats:

Wesley Johnson 16.2 ppg, 8.8 reb, shooting 41% from three point land, 54% from the field
- top scorer and rebounder on a team who is 24-1 and ranked third in the country

DJ 10.3 ppg, 3.8 reb, shooting 31% from three point land, 54% from the field
- third leading scorer on a team who is struggling to find an identity and is longing for senior leadership and someone to step up.

If Wesley was on this team, I believe we could add at least three wins.

I love DJ, but DJ's numbers have never been better than Wesley's. Wesley averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds as a true freshman at Iowa State. DJ has never reached those averages as a Gopher.

You make a good point about why recruiting services are often a crap shoot. Wesley was a late commitment to Iowa State during his senior year in high school. He really was a "sleeper" in that people were down on the commitment and thought that McDermott was just trying to fill the roster with a warm body. He blossomed immediately. After his sophomore year (12 ppg again), people got in his ear about how the system he was in did not showcase his talents. Transfers to Syracuse and has been a huge piece to their puzzle. Only concern is their 2-3 zone does not show what he can do defensively, good or bad.
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You left out the stats where DJ bettered Wes such as blocks and steals. Wes gets alot more PT than DJ and on a per minute basis, DJ had better assists, less turnovers. Their shooting percents are similar. Wes does better in points and rebounds. If DJ had as minutes as Wes and played in a scoring friendly system, I don't think there would be a huge disparity in scoring. Anyways, I wouldn't bet against DJ.
 

GopherFish said:
You left out the stats where DJ bettered Wes such as blocks and steals. Wes gets alot more PT than DJ and on a per minute basis, DJ had better assists, less turnovers. Their shooting percents are similar. Wes does better in points and rebounds. If DJ had as minutes as Wes and played in a scoring friendly system, I don't think there would be a huge disparity in scoring. Anyways, I wouldn't bet against DJ.
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Okay, if you want to dig further.....

Wesley 2.2 Assts, 1.7 blocks, 1.6 steals

DJ 2.1 Assts, 2.0 blocks, 2.2 steals

They don't have similar shooting percentages either. That is a big knock on DJ. Wesley shoots 41% from 3 point range. DJ shoots 31%. That is a huge difference in the world of basketball. And, Wesley has taken 78 threes and Damian only 19.

So Wesley averages 6 ppg more and 5 more rebounds per game. If you have to hang your argument on the extra .3 blocks per game and the .6 extra steals per game for DJ, I think you are on the wrong end of the argument. Wesley is simply a much better player. I would not be surprised to see him as a second or third team All-American this year if Syracuse continues to romp.

Also, there may be a reason that Wesley gets more minutes per game on a much better team. He is better. Think about the players that have been suspended (even for part of the season) or ruled ineligible throughout this year, and then realize that DJ's minutes per game have actually gone down this year. That is hard to explain.
 

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