BJ Johnson

[OGBJ20]

Congrats on the victory. It's good to see that BJ plays his best ball against the top competition that he has faced so far. St. Frances defeated Travis(Harrison twins) so this is indeed a very big win for LM. Did BJ and Dwayne Morgan matchup up at all during the game? Good luck against St. Joseph and the Notre Dame commit on Saturday.

Yes they did at times. BJ was able to defend well in the one on one matchups against him as well in the other positions. BJ guarded without any help on the floor inside and out. He commanded double teams on offense at times. He took the ball to the hoop with aggression and got fouled. He defended positions from 1-4 in the game. He was on the point of the zone press full and half. I was very pleased that LM met the back yard brawl challenge as the refs let St. Francis get away with alot of BS on the floor as if they were intimidated by them and their coaches. But we were able to punch them in the mouth until the game was over.

 

[OGBJ20]

I love kids that work their butts off on their way here, especially 6'-7 4/2" ones with mulitpositional talent like BJ. He is going to be hard to keep off the court. We are in for great years for the foreseeable future.

That is definitely the plan for him to be the best student/athlete that he can be at the Cuse. Getting a degree and playing at the highest level is his goal.

 

[OGBJ20]

Don't even sweat it, Bobby. I would chalk it up to good intentions, ie, the welcoming part.

Point is, we support you, and for those who might be under this category, you can go to a specific profile and there is a link to "ignore". Just remember, you will have to log on to not see those posters.

I feel that having this stiff competition is good for the team, and as talented a group of guys we have coming in next year, it's not for anyone to say who will and won't start. BJ could earn it. CJ could earn it. Grant could earn it, etc.

Oh, and it's not for anyone to say except this guy:

Or maybe this guy:

Thanks Tee. BJ is coming to the CUSE because the coaches have confidence in him that he will be a great player at the CUSE. The bottom line is that we are not interested in BJ being a one and done guy. We are interested in BJ being the best that he can be. If an opportunity presented itself in the future than we would explore it. But he has a lot basketball to play and a lot more to learn going forward. We are very excited to be part of the CUSE family.

 

[tee1222]

Thanks Tee. BJ is coming to the CUSE because the coaches have confidence in him that he will be a great player at the CUSE. The bottom line is that we are not interested in BJ being a one and done guy. We are interested in BJ being the best that he can be. If an opportunity presented itself in the future than we would explore it. But he has a lot basketball to play and a lot more to learn going forward. We are very excited to be part of the CUSE family.

All good
And thank you for the updates and keep em coming man!

 

[Francis03]

Yes they did at times. BJ was able to defend well in the one on one matchups against him as well in the other positions. BJ guarded without any help on the floor inside and out. He commanded double teams on offense at times. He took the ball to the hoop with aggression and got fouled. He defended positions from 1-4 in the game. He was on the point of the zone press full and half. I was very pleased that LM met the back yard brawl challenge as the refs let St. Francis get away with alot of BS on the floor as if they were intimidated by them and their coaches. But we were able to punch them in the mouth until the game was over.

Sounds good and thanks for the recap. Seems like it was a nice physical B-More vs Philly warfare.

 

[Libero2]

Thanks Tee. BJ is coming to the CUSE because the coaches have confidence in him that he will be a great player at the CUSE. The bottom line is that we are not interested in BJ being a one and done guy. We are interested in BJ being the best that he can be. If an opportunity presented itself in the future than we would explore it. But he has a lot basketball to play and a lot more to learn going forward. We are very excited to be part of the CUSE family.

Always excellent to hear. So many of our guys in the past have jumped a year before they were really ready for the NBA and they never make it, just recently, Donte Green, Paul Harris, Johnny Flynn, Wes Johnson are all perfect examples (Dion may or may not be added to this list). I want our kids to stay in school until they are ready to make the leap. They have a much better chance of sticking in the league the more developed their games are, and the more experience and maturity that they have. And of course, there is the bias of what if they stuck around, would we have won a title if Greene Flynn and Johnson all played on one team with AO and Rick Jackson down low? I certainly think so.

In addition, I am a big proponent of guys getting their degree because if basketball doesnt work out they need to have a fall back career option. I don't know what the percentage is in the NBA, but I believe in the NFL its 28% of NFL players are broke within a year of being out of the NFL and after 10 years the percentage is something like 84% of NFL players no longer have any money left from their playing days. Very few people manage the wealth well. Having a fall back option to start earning money again if/when the sports career is no longer an option is incredibly important.

B.J. Seems like a bright kid (definitely a stud ball player) and it sounds an awful lot like he has a good set of parents to help guide him to make the best decisions when the time comes.

 

[OGBJ20]

Sounds good and thanks for recap. Seems like it was a nice physical B-More vs Philly warfare.

Yes it was a good one once LM realized that they were in one. Had my fuel pumping. Thanks

 

[OGBJ20]

Always excellent to hear. So many of our guys in the past have jumped a year before they were really ready for the NBA and they never make it, just recently, Donte Green, Paul Harris, Johnny Flynn, Wes Johnson are all perfect examples (Dion may or may not be added to this list). I want our kids to stay in school until they are ready to make the leap. They have a much better chance of sticking in the league the more developed their games are, and the more experience and maturity that they have. And of course, there is the bias of what if they stuck around, would we have won a title if Greene Flynn and Johnson all played on one team with AO and Rick Jackson down low? I certainly think so.

In addition, I am a big proponent of guys getting their degree because if basketball doesnt work out they need to have a fall back career option. I don't know what the percentage is in the NBA, but I believe in the NFL its 28% of NFL players are broke within a year of being out of the NFL and after 10 years the percentage is something like 84% of NFL players no longer have any money left from their playing days. Very few people manage the wealth well. Having a fall back option to start earning money again if/when the sports career is no longer an option is incredibly important.

B.J. Seems like a bright kid (definitely a stud ball player) and it sounds an awful lot like he has a good set of parents to help guide him to make the best decisions when the time comes.

Thanks, I believe that being ready for the challenges of the next level are important in the developement of BJ's college career. We do not believe in having him finish college without a degree regardless of his basketball potential. I also see the underdeveloped college hoopsters making the leap too soon to thier detriment of their career. Being prepared is much more important in the league and much more vital as a life changer for these guys because of nature of NBA. Their is not a lot of time if you are not able to cut it. A little different in college, at least you have a little more time to improve as a player.

 

[tee1222]

Zagsblog mentions BJ's match up this Saturday night.

 

[OGBJ20]

Zagsblog mentions BJ's match up this Saturday night.

It should be a good one. We beat them by 15 last year. I believe that we will win tomorrow. Both families are close because myself and Doug are great friends and former college teammates. Brothers from another mother.

 

[Libero2]

Thanks, I believe that being ready for the challenges of the next level are important in the developement of BJ's college career. We do not believe in having him finish college without a degree regardless of his basketball potential. I also see the underdeveloped college hoopsters making the leap too soon to thier detriment of their career. Being prepared is much more important in the league and much more vital as a life changer for these guys because of nature of NBA. Their is not a lot of time if you are not able to cut it. A little different in college, at least you have a little more time to improve as a player.

Absolutely, in the NBA you have a year maybe 2 to make an impression on somebody before you become a career D-Leaguer. In college you have 4 (ok technically 5 with a redshirt year) to make an impression on the staff. I am also a huge believer in one concept, better to be a year too late, than a year to early. If you jump a year late, you are still going to be good enough to make it. If you jump a year early and aren't ready, you spend to much time floundering and trying to get up to speed (see the recent SU guys I talked about) and by the time you get settled, your career is over and your chances of actually improving to becoming a great player are done.

Like i said, sounds like B.J. has a solid family foundation to guide him along the next few years. Hopefully the kid sets the campus on fire the moment he steps on it.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Mr Johnson - First of all, this board is lucky to have you giving first hand reporting of a future SU star prospect playing in his senior year. Even better you are his father, a former collegiate player and someone who understands the game of basketball.

Secondly, it's comical to me to see what certain members of this forum post on a variety of subjects including basketball/BJ. Not sure what "IthacaMatt"s intentions were or are, but what is clear he doesn't know anything about your son.

Keep the posts coming!

My intentions are only good ones. B.J. is a talented young man, with the emphasis on "young". Mr. Johnson seems dead set against any kind of consideration of redshirting his son for next year; he is really looking forward to competing for significant minutes. That's all great.

I'm just saying that to the neutral observer, we will have Fair, Grant, Gbinije and the other frosh Roberson all competing with him. That's five forwards, not counting that if none of our bigs leave for the pros, he'll also have Coleman or Christmas taking some time at one of the forward spots. And what if McCullough should be successful in reclassifying to this class, too?

That's a lot of competition, and B.J. just turned 17. Some of these kids will be 4 or 5 years older than him next year, and more physically ready for Big East competition. There's nothing wrong with waiting for your body to catch up with your skills. I just hope Dad isn't setting his sights too high or too unrealistically for his son, so at this time a year from now, we don't have someone grumbling about transferring away. You don't need that for team chemistry.

 

[orangejunkie]

What's the worry? Family and son seem very well grounded and focussed on being the best prepared he can be. The rest will work themselves out. Things like playing time and redshirting will be worked out between the coaches and player. No need to speculate prematurely. Redshirting can be a valuable decision, but many of these top kids want to play when they get on campus and I can't blame them.

 

[IthacaMatt]

What's the worry? Family and son seem very well grounded and focussed on being the best prepared he can be. The rest will work themselves out. Things like playing time and redshirting will be worked out between the coaches and player. No need to speculate prematurely. Redshirting can be a valuable decision, but many of these top kids want to play when they get on campus and I can't blame them.

I'm not telling him his son won't play. Sometimes the least heralded recruit turns out to be the best in a class (Lawrence Moten springs to mind ...). I just feel like Mr. Johnson was getting a little carried away in his praise for his son (he could play the 4 in college at 6-7, 160, and has point guard skills?). It was getting to the point where this reminded me of a Paul Harris / "Chuck Norris" thread from a few years ago. Just trying to keep it real.

 

[memcorsu]

Mr. Johnson,

I apologize if this has already been discussed, but I was wondering if the staff recruited your son as a 2 or 3. The highlights that I have watched at him has him as a 6'4" 2 and the reports are that he grew a few inches. It seems as JB is really moving towards larger guards.

I was wondering what it was like going through the recruiting process. Most of us will never have the experience, could you give us a recap of the process and how the coaches presented themselves and their respected U's. What were the negatives positives and what ultimately brought you to SU.

Thanks,

Mem

PS
Happy New Years.

 

[MCC]

As I mentioned earlier BJ is the prospect I'm most excited to watch - I find it so rewarding that our programs lands underrated guys who can play multiple positions, and then I get to watch them for at least 2-3 years. Plus he sounds like a prototypical 'Cuse / JB forward, someone who could develop into a Billy Owens type player (but ideally with a better motor and better head on his shoulders). I'm sure he'll be a credit to our program as well.

One question for Mr. Johnson: I'm a huge fan of players who have nice post moves, and the terrific footwork that goes with it; that subtle ability to throw fakes and spins into the mix to score from midrange or on the block. Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch much film of BJ - does he bring this to the table as well? I can imagine him posting up smaller guys or driving around bigger guys. He could be a matchup nightmare if he gets to 6'8" and can score from anywhere on the court.

 

[ForeverOrange]

I'm not telling him his son won't play. Sometimes the least heralded recruit turns out to be the best in a class (Lawrence Moten springs to mind ...). I just feel like Mr. Johnson was getting a little carried away in his praise for his son (he could play the 4 in college at 6-7, 160, and has point guard skills?). It was getting to the point where this reminded me of a Paul Harris / "Chuck Norris" thread from a few years ago. Just trying to keep it real.

No offense man but I think his father knows all the things to expect in playing division I college ball, since he himself has experienced it. As a proud father myself, if my son was/is Division I material, I'd probably get a little carried away too, isn't that what proud parents do? Let him enjoy his moment, I am actually enjoying hearing the perspective he brings to the board, it's more personal, we are learning more about his son and his background before he has even stepped a foot on campus.

 

[OGBJ20]

My intentions are only good ones. B.J. is a talented young man, with the emphasis on "young". Mr. Johnson seems dead set against any kind of consideration of redshirting his son for next year; he is really looking forward to competing for significant minutes. That's all great.

I'm just saying that to the neutral observer, we will have Fair, Grant, Gbinije and the other frosh Roberson all competing with him. That's five forwards, not counting that if none of our bigs leave for the pros, he'll also have Coleman or Christmas taking some time at one of the forward spots. And what if McCullough should be successful in reclassifying to this class, too?

That's a lot of competition, and B.J. just turned 17. Some of these kids will be 4 or 5 years older than him next year, and more physically ready for Big East competition. There's nothing wrong with waiting for your body to catch up with your skills. I just hope Dad isn't setting his sights too high or too unrealistically for his son, so at this time a year from now, we don't have someone grumbling about transferring away. You don't need that for team chemistry.

Like I said before, you don't know us too well. He has always played up for his age and done well. Do you really think that the coaches JB and Hop would highly consider giving a ship to a young man who they had no intentions of playing. Obviously you should do a little more homework before you start accessing talent that you don't know about. For example, according to the coaches "he has more skills, versatility and a better shooter than the current forwards on the team at this point and when they first arrived at the CUSE." Don't let misconceptions of BJ only playing one summer of nationally AAU with TF who had four other starters ranked in the top 100 and he was arguably the best player on the team according to his coach. Don't worry, we will be ready for whatever so let's have it! We like when dudes talk ish and competition. We are built like that in heart.

 

[OGBJ20]

As I mentioned earlier BJ is the prospect I'm most excited to watch - I find it so rewarding that our programs lands underrated guys who can play multiple positions, and then I get to watch them for at least 2-3 years. Plus he sounds like a prototypical 'Cuse / JB forward, someone who could develop into a Billy Owens type player (but ideally with a better motor and better head on his shoulders). I'm sure he'll be a credit to our program as well.

One question for Mr. Johnson: I'm a huge fan of players who have nice post moves, and the terrific footwork that goes with it; that subtle ability to throw fakes and spins into the mix to score from midrange or on the block. Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch much film of BJ - does he bring this to the table as well? I can imagine him posting up smaller guys or driving around bigger guys. He could be a matchup nightmare if he gets to 6'8" and can score from anywhere on the court.

He does have good footwork and post moves on the block. The coaches see as playing 2 and 3 at this point with his versatility. Those assessments were made by other pro coaches and former players during various workouts in the past summer.

 

[OGBJ20]

What's the worry? Family and son seem very well grounded and focussed on being the best prepared he can be. The rest will work themselves out. Things like playing time and redshirting will be worked out between the coaches and player. No need to speculate prematurely. Redshirting can be a valuable decision, but many of these top kids want to play when they get on campus and I can't blame them.

No one is a bigger critic of BJ than me. I can tell BJ things from experience as a low D1 interest player due to being inelgible as a high school senior. For instance, I was told by my coach who did not recruit me that in my froshmen year that I would not play. I did not redshirt and he kept his word. I started the second year for the first 15games and then became the teams 6th man. Most improved that year. Junior year, I was told that i was not going to start the night before we played the CUSE. 6thman of the year and team's best defensive player. Senior year top 6th man in the country, team's defensive player of the year. 2nd on most oppossing team scout list to the L-Train. So you see BJ will be ready because it has been instilled in him to always work hard and continue to improve as a player on the court. Handling adversity and going through tough times is something that we handle well and succeed. Whatever the coaches decide will be predicated on BJ's play and that fine with me. When life hands you oranges, we make ORANGE Juice. We are looking forward to a great time at the CUSE over the next four years.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Like I said before, you don't know us too well. He has always played up for his age and done well. Do you really think that the coaches JB and Hop would highly consider giving a ship to a young who they had no intentions of playing. Obviously you should do a little more homework because you start accessing talent that you don't know about. For example, according to the coaches "he has more skills, versatility and a better shooter than the current forwards on the team at this point and when they first arrived at the CUSE." Don't let misconceptions of BJ only playing one summer of nationally AAU with TF who had four other starters ranked in the top 100 and he was arguably the best player on the team according to his coach. Don't worry, we will be ready for whatever so let's have it! We like when dudes talk ish and competition. We are built like that in heart.

Best of luck to you and B.J., Mr. Johnson. No offense intended. I'm sure he's going to be a terrific player for us. Welcome to the family.

I never put you son down or suggested he wasn't worthy of a scholarship. Let's clear that up right now.

For the record, I follow recruiting pretty closely, and attended ABCD Camp when it used to be in Hackensack every year for seven years in a row, back before there was so much information that's now available online.

And if your son is already a better shooter than James Southerland, then you're right, he's going to be playing a lot next year. Best of luck.

 

[OGBJ20]

I'm not telling him his son won't play. Sometimes the least heralded recruit turns out to be the best in a class (Lawrence Moten springs to mind ...). I just feel like Mr. Johnson was getting a little carried away in his praise for his son (he could play the 4 in college at 6-7, 160, and has point guard skills?). It was getting to the point where this reminded me of a Paul Harris / "Chuck Norris" thread from a few years ago. Just trying to keep it real.[/quote

BJ is not 160. He was 177pds and 6'7.5" and growing the last we checked at his wellness in september which was four months ago. Check out his games and you see for yourself.

 

[OGBJ20]

Best of luck to you and B.J., Mr. Johnson. No offense intended. I'm sure he's going to be a terrific player for us. Welcome to the family.

I never put you son down or suggested he wasn't worthy of a scholarship. Let's clear that up right now.

For the record, I follow recruiting pretty closely, and attended ABCD Camp when it used to be in Hackensack every year for seven years in a row, back before there was so much information that's now available online.

And if your son is already a better shooter than James Southerland, then you're right, he's going to be playing a lot next year. Best of l
luck.

That's what the SU coaches stated to me after assessing him over the summer. With more hard work BJ can get better. There is always room for improvement.

 

[OGBJ20]

Mr. Johnson,

I apologize if this has already been discussed, but I was wondering if the staff recruited your son as a 2 or 3. The highlights that I have watched at him has him as a 6'4" 2 and the reports are that he grew a few inches. It seems as JB is really moving towards larger guards.

I was wondering what it was like going through the recruiting process. Most of us will never have the experience, could you give us a recap of the process and how the coaches presented themselves and their respected U's. What were the negatives positives and what ultimately brought you to SU.

Thanks,

Mem

PS
Happy New Years.

BJ was 6'7.5" and 177 in September at wellness visit. He was being recruited as 3-2 because of his versatility and abitlity to handle the ball. The recruitment process was very exciting for BJ and us a family. I believed in being up front with the coaches in the recruitment process. During the summer BJ's stock really rose from small D1 school to Big East, ACC Big Ten and A10 so I was on the phone constently. He always like the CUSE as a little guy and eventually meeting the coaches and visiting the school during the process sealed it. CUSE is the school that BJ wanted to attend because it was his dream school to play for. I remember asking him if he waited to sign until the spring, if for example if Duke, NC or UK knocked on the door what he want to do, being a late bloomer so to speak. He said that he would go to the CUSE if and when they offered or he would attend Nova who offered him a in the summer. The coaches seemed to be upfront with the process and explained to BJ that he would have to earn everything that he gets in terms of playing. So we know where they are coming from in terms of competing for time on the floor from possibly starting to coming off the bench. Their intentions were to bring BJ in to play depsite his age. I was pleased with the coaches and I knew of them from guys from Philly Scoop, Rick and Skinny. Have a Happy New Years as well.

 

[tee1222]

He does have good footwork and post moves on the block. The coaches see as playing 2 and 3 at this point with his versatility. Those assessments were made by other pro coaches and former players during various workouts in the past summer.

The thought of having a 6'7 + guy playing SG at the college level is very exciting to me. As a matter of fact, we haven't had a very long, tall shooting guard in a while. As far back as 1998, a freshman Shumpert was only 6'6. Cipolla 1997 was listed as 6'7, and neither of them were as tall as BJ most likely already is. And lefty!