BJ Johnson

[SouthCampusHero]

That picture of BJ isnt that far off from what Nichols looked like as a freshman

From scrawny freshman that showed great potential to All-American Honorable Mention and First Team BE as a senior.

http://www.orangehoops.org/dnichols.htm

 

[OGBJ20]

That picture of BJ isnt that far off from what Nichols looked like as a freshman

From scrawny freshman that showed great potential to All-American Honorable Mention and First Team BE as a senior.

http://www.orangehoops.org/dnichols.htm

Looks similar in build indeed. Looking forward to a great college career from BJ. Very excited to exeprience the next level. But first he is the process of taking care of business here. Glad to be apart of the Cuse family. GO ACES, GO ORANGE!!!

 

[tee1222]

Looks similar in build indeed. Looking forward to a great college career from BJ. Very excited to exeprience the next level. But first he is the process of taking care of business here. Glad to be apart of the Cuse family. GO ACES, GO ORANGE!!!

Very excited as well for next year. Great talent coming in, and I hope it stays that way after ACC move and Hop (speculating). I have a feeling we will be a top tier team for a long time to come.

 

[CU44SE]

Very excited as well for next year. Great talent coming in, and I hope it stays that way after ACC move and Hop (speculating). I have a feeling we will be a top tier team for a long time to come.

This brings up something I'm interested in. Mr Johnson did the possible coaching change from JB to HOP ever come up in the recruiting process of your son? If your Son does stay all 4 years its possible JB may retire in that time frame, just wondering if that came up in discussion at all.

 

[OGBJ20]

This brings up something I'm interested in. Mr Johnson did the possible coaching change from JB to HOP ever come up in the recruiting process of your son? If your Son does stay all 4 years its possible JB may retire in that time frame, just wondering if that came up in discussion at all.

We are familiar will the entire coaching staff and comfortable with JB and Hop if he takes over in the process. The entire coaching staff is very high on BJ so it does not effect BJ in a negative way if coach decides to hand over the torch to HOP.

 

[OGBJ20]

BJ had 13pts, 5rebs,5ast (no turnovers) in about 2 quarters in a 71-44 win over St. Raymonds in WV.

 

[tee1222]

Great game for two quarters! Especially the 5 boards and 5 assists.

 

[OGBJ20]

Great game for two quarters! Especially the 5 boards and 5 assists.

I was getting the news via text. The game was a blowout early in the first half as it was 60-27 at one point in the third qtr.

 

[Francis03]

I was getting the news via text. The game was a blowout early in the first half as it was 60-27 at one point in the third qtr.

Yikes!!! As a St. Ray's alum, that score hurts very much lol. I know it was suppose to be a rebuilding year for them but geez

 

[OGBJ20]

Yikes!!! As a St. Ray's alum, that score hurts very much lol. I know it was suppose to be a rebuilding year for them but geez

Yeah it was over early from my reports. Scout has mentioned BJ in article after tonights game.

 

[Libero2]

Yeah it was over early from my reports. Scout has mentioned BJ in article after tonights game.

Any chance you have a link to that article? Sounds Like BJ had a heck of a first half

 

[Francis03]

http://www.cityleaguehoops.net/2013/01/05/cancer-research-classic-day-1-recap/
BJ gets some love on his performance in that recap.

 

[Francis03]

Brian Snow wrote the following from last night's performance.

"The future Syracuse player continues to get better at a fast rate. He looks right near 6-foot-7 now, and is still long and athletic. What stood out was how smooth and efficient Johnson was in a blowout win. He had the three point stroke working and then also finished above the rim. Once he gets stronger and fills out he could be a late bloomer who has a big time college career."

 

[MCC]

Brian Snow wrote the following from last night's performance.

"The future Syracuse player continues to get better at a fast rate. He looks right near 6-foot-7 now, and is still long and athletic. What stood out was how smooth and efficient Johnson was in a blowout win. He had the three point stroke working and then also finished above the rim. Once he gets stronger and fills out he could be a late bloomer who has a big time college career."

Two things that bug me a bit about the analyses from Snow et al.: (1) he's not really a "late bloomer", he's young for his class (or am I wrong here?) so it's not unreasonable to expect him to get to 6'8" and fill out his frame and (2) it really sounds like he has the skills to be a 2/3 at the high major level, which means he'll be a nightmare matchup for essentially any college team, especially in JB's system. Point (2) is why I'm so keen to get a sense of BJ's defensive aptitude. We've already seen what MCW can do at the top of the zone; imagine BJ's length and lateral quickness up there. Good luck to any short guards who try to get an open look at a 3 in his vicinity. If he has good hands and anticipates, he will terrorize teams at both ends of the floor.

I haven't seen him play much but if the evaluations I've read of his skill set and work ethic are at all accurate then he's going to be dynamite for SU, the question is how soon. Not only that but he has the size to be successful in the NBA as a 2 that could slide to the 3 - which of course will make the program look even better for identifying and helping develop a solid rotation guy in the league. I really, really like the potential here.

 

[OGBJ20]

Two things that bug me a bit about the analyses from Snow et al.: (1) he's not really a "late bloomer", he's young for his class (or am I wrong here?) so it's not unreasonable to expect him to get to 6'8" and fill out his frame and (2) it really sounds like he has the skills to be a 2/3 at the high major level, which means he'll be a nightmare matchup for essentially any college team, especially in JB's system. Point (2) is why I'm so keen to get a sense of BJ's defensive aptitude. We've already seen what MCW can do at the top of the zone; imagine BJ's length and lateral quickness up there. Good luck to any short guards who try to get an open look at a 3 in his vicinity. If he has good hands and anticipates, he will terrorize teams at both ends of the floor.

I haven't seen him play much but if the evaluations I've read of his skill set and work ethic are at all accurate then he's going to be dynamite for SU, the question is how soon. Not only that but he has the size to be successful in the NBA as a 2 that could slide to the 3 - which of course will make the program look even better for identifying and helping develop a solid rotation guy in the league. I really, really like the potential here.

The thing is that they did not give him enough credit for his performance this summer on the national scene. They grossly underated him and missed it all together. He was highly recruited from major D1 school in the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, A-10 and was offered ships from most of them. I know because I talked to them. They never updated his status until he all of suddden signed with SU. Now they say the obvious things like once he gets stronger. When in fact, all players have to get stronger going into college and so on. The key is that BJ knows how to play the game on both ends of the floor. That is how he was able to be so productive with AAU team whom he never played with before. You don't think that they would admitt that they missed him. They don't rate him high here like some of the others on other teams according to some writers until he steps on the floor and gives those teams the business. Neumann could not stop him, St. Francis, St. Joes Prep. Because they blow their league teams out he does not play a lot of minutes to increase his stats. But he plays well while on the floor and excellent against the better teams. So the fact that they missed him is a understatement. Just imagine if a year ago, I did decide to reclassify or keep him back in the eight grade. We would not be having this conversation. But we believe in his talent and desire to play the game at this time to be a great player. It is easier to go with the name you know. So they will slowly get on and he will continue to work to accomplish his goals.

 

[OGBJ20]

The thing is that they did not give him enough credit for his performance this summer on the national scene. They grossly underated him and missed it all together. He was highly recruited from major D1 school in the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, A-10 and was offered ships from most of them. I know because I talked to them. They never updated his status until he all of suddden signed with SU. Now they say the obvious things like once he gets stronger. When in fact, all players have to get stronger going into college and so on. The key is that BJ knows how to play the game on both ends of the floor. That is how he was able to be so productive with AAU team whom he never played with before. You don't think that they would admitt that they missed him. They don't rate him high here like some of the others on other teams according to some writers until he steps on the floor and gives those teams the business. Neumann could not stop him, St. Francis, St. Joes Prep. Because they blow their league teams out he does not play a lot of minutes to increase his stats. But he plays well while on the floor and excellent against the better teams. So the fact that they missed him is a understatement. Just imagine if a year ago, I did decide to reclassify or keep him back in the eight grade. We would not be having this conversation. But we believe in his talent and desire to play the game at this time to be a great player. It is easier to go with the name you know. So they will slowly get on and he will continue to work to accomplish his goals.

He plays on the point of some of the defenses now which causes issues for the opponent. Francis you are definitely right on that that one. I blame it on Kobe. He started this mess. :rolling:

 

[OGBJ20]

He plays on the point of some of the defenses now which causes issues for the opponent. Francis you are definitely right on that that one. I blame it on Kobe. He started this mess. :rolling:

BJ has another article in rivals as well.

 

[Francis03]

BJ has another article in rivals as well.

"It was tough to match the crowd intensity, and talent level, of the Prime Prep vs. Huntington Prep game; but, the boys from Ardmore (Pa.) Lower Merion and Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond's gave it their best effort. In a blowout win for Lower Merion, the same high school where a young Kobe Bryant played, 2013 three-star small forward B.J. Johnson put on a nice all-around performance in scoring 13 points.
The Syracusesignee knocked down 3 of 4 long distance shots, showing a pretty release on his shooting stroke, which is tough to contest given his 6-foot-7 size and long frame. Johnson isn't the greatest ballhandler in the world, but he can score in straight lines with his athleticism and length, and is a matchup problem given his size and shooting ability.
A candidate to jump into the next edition of the Rivals150, Johnson was the catalyst early for Lower Merion as it raced to a 20-point lead early and never looked back."

I'm glad to see BJ getting so much national love now

 

[OGBJ20]

"It was tough to match the crowd intensity, and talent level, of the Prime Prep vs. Huntington Prep game; but, the boys from Ardmore (Pa.) Lower Merion and Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond's gave it their best effort. In a blowout win for Lower Merion, the same high school where a young Kobe Bryant played, 2013 three-star small forward B.J. Johnson put on a nice all-around performance in scoring 13 points.
The Syracusesignee knocked down 3 of 4 long distance shots, showing a pretty release on his shooting stroke, which is tough to contest given his 6-foot-7 size and long frame. Johnson isn't the greatest ballhandler in the world, but he can score in straight lines with his athleticism and length, and is a matchup problem given his size and shooting ability.
A candidate to jump into the next edition of the Rivals150, Johnson was the catalyst early for Lower Merion as it raced to a 20-point lead early and never looked back."

I'm glad to see BJ getting so much national love now

Yes indeed, but he knows that he that he needs to continue to get better and work hard accomplish his goals. Your only as good as your last game.

 

[tee1222]

Hey Francis, much thanks for the stats updates on your blog. Recruits and prospects are going hogwild it in their respective leagues.

 

[Libero2]

Yes indeed, but he knows that he that he needs to continue to get better and work hard accomplish his goals. Your only as good as your last game.

That's the truth, can't rest on history for long, it's all about consistency and improving your game. Glad to see BJ is constantly improving his game, and playing at such a high level.

 

[OGBJ20]

That's the truth, can't rest on history for long, it's all about consistency and improving your game. Glad to see BJ is constantly improving his game, and playing at such a high level.

Thanks, The key is that he stays hungry for the successes of the game and stay humble in doing so. He will continue to become a great player just as long as he has that fire in his belly.

 

[Francis03]

Hey Francis, much thanks for the stats updates on your blog. Recruits and prospects are going hogwild it in their respective leagues.

My pleasure. The 2013 class and beyond are like Frankenstein. Nothing but monsters being created to terrorize the ACC (insert your favorite evil laugh).

 

[Libero2]

Thanks, The key is that he stays hungry for the successes of the game and stay humble in doing so. He will continue to become a great player just as long as he has that fire in his belly.

I can't see that fire, especially if he naturally competitive (which he apparently is), going away anytime soon at SU. With the quality of teams he is expected to be playing on, with SU essentially gunning for a title each of his years on campus, the competitiveness should actually go on the uptick.

Like I said, as I excited as I am about this years team, I can't wait to see next years...

 

[OGBJ20]

I can't see that fire, especially if he naturally competitive (which he apparently is), going away anytime soon at SU. With the quality of teams he is expected to be playing on, with SU essentially gunning for a title each of his years on campus, the competitiveness should actually go on the uptick.

Like I said, as I excited as I am about this years team, I can't wait to see next years...

Agreed. I don't see it going away but only increasing throughout.SUball