Let’s get mean.
Standing at 5-foot-11, Jaquan “Bully” Johnson has had to work against bigger opponents his entire career. For reference, 5-foot-11 is the shortest height for a rostered player in the NBA currently, with only three players on that list anyways. What Johnson lacks in height, he makes up for in his voracious style of play, both on offense and defense.
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His high effort play on both sides of the court made him a bully in the Missouri Valley this past season, becoming a breakout star with a conference defensive player of the year award and the appropriate nickname of “Bully”. If that doesn’t sound like a T.J. Otzelberger target then I don’t know what you have been watching the past five years.
What does Johnson bring?
Offensively, he is going to drive, drive, and drive some more. That’s not an exaggeration, as all of his made field goals against Southern Mississippi were layups, and he leads the team in attempted free throws with 15 through just two games and 40 minutes of playing time. He did average a very respectable 38% from deep this past season with the Braves, so opening up the option for him to fire from distance would certainly help not only his driving options, as well as open up space for others on the floor to move towards the hoop.
Defensively, he is already showcasing his viciousness on the ball. He is currently leading the team in steals through two games, which is doubly impressive with his smaller stature. While at Bradley, he averaged an impressive 2.5 steals per game (Tamin Lipsey averaged 2.3 for comparison), which also included a monstrous nine takeaways against UT-Martin, a Bradley school record. It will always take time for new players to adapt to the responsibilities required in the Otzelberger defense, and we have seen some lapses last week. But having both Lipsey and Johnson on the floor can make it incredibly difficult for opposing guards to operate.
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How will Johnson be used?
I expect Johnson to be used as a substitute for Tamin Lipsey, especially with both players rooted in their point guard tendencies. With that in mind, I also wouldn’t mind a three man rotation of Lipsey, Johnson, and Kilyan Toure once he returns from injury, with two of the three on the court at basically all times. The thought of teams always having to deal with two of them defensively at all times should shimber the timbers of opposing guards.
The willingness to drive is a very nice piece to have for this offense, especially paired with the 78% FT percentage he averaged last season. The final piece I think he needs to unlock is a willingness to shoot from distance. He has only attempted three shots from beyond the arc over two games, and he averaged connected on 38% of his long distance shots last season. The three point shooting as a squad has been subpar, outside of Ryan Prather Jr. Take Prather out of the lineup, and the Cyclones are 3-22 from deep. I think that should naturally get better due to the law of averages.
I am also a firm believer that if you only need two guys on any given night that are having a good night from three to keep yourself in any game, so if Johnson can at least put his hat into the ring, that can greatly open up the playbook. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (seems like T.J. likes that area), I’m not sure there has been a transfer that fits the system more clearly than the guy the call bully.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
