Calling it: Stanley Johnson is a TOP TWO pick!

[Marcus]

watching the Zona games this year only thing I don't like about Stan's game is he seems to force it and tries to do more than he needs to on offense. Its like he still thinks he's at Dei and has to do everything. Obviously something that can be ironed at the next level since he's a good kid that's said to be willing to learn as he's shown back in HS.

I think he's a guy you can plug into the league today but I can't say he's more "sure fire" than Jah.

[bigboi]

Few remember just how inefficient of a scorer LeBron was his first couple years in the league. He was lucky to be handed the keys to the franchise by the uber talent Ricky Davis(lol), who put up decent stats himself as 'the star' before LeBron. It was his amazing vision and slashing ability(off-the-charts athleticism) that originally allowed him to compete with anyone in the NBA at such a young age. Stanley will never be the playmaker LeBron is and likely never quite the same rebounder(it's way too early to project though)... but his slashing ability/quickness at his size is clearly comparable.. Sure he can't jump as high, but like LeBron, he'd be a first round TE in the NFL Draft. Screams upside to me.. and he might be a better shooter at the same age.

He's been taught & trained by a former professional basketball player(his Mom! ) since he was 5 years old. Coach's dream.

He wouldn't be first round TE at all. Dude is slow and not even strong for NFL standards. Put down the Kool Aid. What allowed Lebron to compete with anyone is his combo of insane athleticism and skill. Johnson doesn't have even close to Lenron's speed or first step so therefore he will not be even close to him

[No-Man]

I still like Winslow better among wings.
Johnson has a nice skillset, he can create his own shot, but he has a flat shot, he really needs to reconstruct that, and then, he has some handles, but his lateral agility is bad, he should trim down a bit, and he is too aggressive sometimes, playing with blinders.
I like his game, and he is a hard worker, but Winslow is more versatile, more athletic, can do more things and is much more advanced or mature, better passer, handler, doesnt pursue his points, but is miles better without the ball and can get easy basket.
Johnson is more Jimmy Butler-esque and Winslow Kawhi Leonard-esque (but way better at the same stage and 100 the athlete).
Winslow is a safer pick with more upside due to athleticism, Johnson will probably be a better scorer at first, but thats about it, and his jumper is suspicious.

[Catchall]

How's Johnson's handle and his ability to get a step or create off the dribble? These are my questions with him, and why I'm actually a bit more high on Hezonja.

Regarding Mudiay, I don't see how he draws comparisons to John Wall. He's not that kind of athlete, but he does look like a bigger, more naturally talented Deron Williams or J'Rue Holiday and is ahead of the curve in his development compared to those two.

[Catchall]

Regarding Winslow, I agree that he's quicker and more explosive than Johnson, in part because he's lighter. Winslow is a big-time plus-athlete and can do some things that remind me of Dwayne Wade. However, his shooting needs to improve almost across the board. That's what's holding him back a bit. The appeal with Johnson is that he's shooting the ball pretty well.

Both Winslow and Johnson are more athletic than either Butler or Leonard, imo.

[treefi]

Few remember just how inefficient of a scorer LeBron was his first couple years in the league. He was lucky to be handed the keys to the franchise by the uber talent Ricky Davis(lol), who put up decent stats himself as 'the star' before LeBron. It was his amazing vision and slashing ability(off-the-charts athleticism) that originally allowed him to compete with anyone in the NBA at such a young age. Stanley will never be the playmaker LeBron is and likely never quite the same rebounder(it's way too early to project though)... but his slashing ability/quickness at his size is clearly comparable.. Sure he can't jump as high, but like LeBron, he'd be a first round TE in the NFL Draft. Screams upside to me.. and he might be a better shooter at the same age.

He's been taught & trained by a former professional basketball player(his Mom! ) since he was 5 years old. Coach's dream.

He wouldn't be first round TE at all. Dude is slow and not even strong for NFL standards. Put down the Kool Aid. What allowed Lebron to compete with anyone is his combo of insane athleticism and skill. Johnson doesn't have even close to Lenron's speed or first step so therefore he will not be even close to him

Closest I've seen to LeBron at that size. Dude is not slow. Watch him play and let's talk again after all this year's prospects are tested athletically.

There is NO ONE on LeBron's level athletically though.. The complete package. The quickest first step, fastest sprinter, strongest, elite vertical, etc.. LeBron had it all at Stanley's age.

You realize 9/10 athletes that are 6'4" - 6'8" and 240+ pounds would prefer an NBA career over an NFL career.. simply because of the toll on their body? This is a common decision, choosing an NBA dream over an NFL dream, for several athletes made in H.S. that could potentially be big-time NFL prospects otherwise.

Hell, there are NFL GM's suggesting Cauley-Stein might get drafted as a TE simply because of the off-the-charts potential... and he's not likely to play football.

[treefi]

How's Johnson's handle and his ability to get a step or create off the dribble? These are my questions with him, and why I'm actually a bit more high on Hezonja.

Regarding Mudiay, I don't see how he draws comparisons to John Wall. He's not that kind of athlete, but he does look like a bigger, more naturally talented Deron Williams or J'Rue Holiday and is ahead of the curve in his development compared to those two.

Right now he's got above average handle for an NBA SF IMO and his first step is his strength offensively.

[treefi]

watching the Zona games this year only thing I don't like about Stan's game is he seems to force it and tries to do more than he needs to on offense. Its like he still thinks he's at Dei and has to do everything. Obviously something that can be ironed at the next level since he's a good kid that's said to be willing to learn as he's shown back in HS.

I think he's a guy you can plug into the league today but I can't say he's more "sure fire" than Jah.

Well Zona seems to be one of the top teams in the country, and Stanley is clearly their best player... so I can understand.

Maybe what he is trying to force will begin to succeed by the end of his freshman year?

[bigboi]

Few remember just how inefficient of a scorer LeBron was his first couple years in the league. He was lucky to be handed the keys to the franchise by the uber talent Ricky Davis(lol), who put up decent stats himself as 'the star' before LeBron. It was his amazing vision and slashing ability(off-the-charts athleticism) that originally allowed him to compete with anyone in the NBA at such a young age. Stanley will never be the playmaker LeBron is and likely never quite the same rebounder(it's way too early to project though)... but his slashing ability/quickness at his size is clearly comparable.. Sure he can't jump as high, but like LeBron, he'd be a first round TE in the NFL Draft. Screams upside to me.. and he might be a better shooter at the same age.

He's been taught & trained by a former professional basketball player(his Mom! ) since he was 5 years old. Coach's dream.

He wouldn't be first round TE at all. Dude is slow and not even strong for NFL standards. Put down the Kool Aid. What allowed Lebron to compete with anyone is his combo of insane athleticism and skill. Johnson doesn't have even close to Lenron's speed or first step so therefore he will not be even close to him

Closest I've seen to LeBron at that size. Dude is not slow. Watch him play and let's talk again after all this year's prospects are tested athletically.

There is NO ONE on LeBron's level athletically though.. The complete package. The quickest first step, fastest sprinter, strongest, elite vertical, etc.. LeBron had it all at Stanley's age.

You realize 9/10 athletes that are 6'4" - 6'8" and 240+ pounds would prefer an NBA career over an NFL career.. simply because of the toll on their body? This is a common decision, choosing an NBA dream over an NFL dream, for several athletes made in H.S. that could potentially be big-time NFL prospects otherwise.

Hell, there are NFL GM's suggesting Cauley-Stein might get drafted as a TE simply because of the off-the-charts potential... and he's not likely to play football.

He is slow, Randle is more comparable to Lebron than Johnson. And that 9/10 statistic isn't true at all. There are plenty of NFL players who could play in the NBA or do track, but would much rather play football. And you serious about WCS? Dude wouldn't have a chance, too skinny, uncoordinated, and tall

[Marcus]

He is slow, Randle is more comparable to Lebron than Johnson. And that 9/10 statistic isn't true at all. There are plenty of NFL players who could play in the NBA or do track, but would much rather play football. And you serious about WCS? Dude wouldn't have a chance, too skinny, uncoordinated, and tall

definitely wouldn't say WCS lands on the uncoordinated side considering that's one of his saving graces on the hardwood.

[Marcus]

watching the Zona games this year only thing I don't like about Stan's game is he seems to force it and tries to do more than he needs to on offense. Its like he still thinks he's at Dei and has to do everything. Obviously something that can be ironed at the next level since he's a good kid that's said to be willing to learn as he's shown back in HS.

I think he's a guy you can plug into the league today but I can't say he's more "sure fire" than Jah.

Well Zona seems to be one of the top teams in the country, and Stanley is clearly their best player... so I can understand.

Maybe what he is trying to force will begin to succeed by the end of his freshman year?

hopefully by the end of the year he settles in and picks his spots better. I will say there doesn't seem to be anybody else on the team as willing to go get buckets outside of Brandon Ashley so it could be a initiative thing with him. As long as he shows he can curve it a bit and pick spots better then he's fine with me.

[Marcus]

How's Johnson's handle and his ability to get a step or create off the dribble? These are my questions with him, and why I'm actually a bit more high on Hezonja.

handle needs work, he's not gonna breakdown and beat too many people off the dribble as it stands, he's more deadly str8 line drive where he can use his strength and muscle his way to the cup. no real shift in him right now. good and willing passer though so if that handle comes around he showcase those strengths a little more.

[Nazrmohamed]

watching the Zona games this year only thing I don't like about Stan's game is he seems to force it and tries to do more than he needs to on offense. Its like he still thinks he's at Dei and has to do everything. Obviously something that can be ironed at the next level since he's a good kid that's said to be willing to learn as he's shown back in HS.

I think he's a guy you can plug into the league today but I can't say he's more "sure fire" than Jah.

Yeah but don't worry about that. Arizona isn't an all that talented team and needs huge efforts by him to win games. But in terms of my critique , Im still keeping him at 4. To me the guys above him all have higher feature player potential. Even Towns who hasn't played that well offensively. I think he'll be a fine player though. The only thing that scares me is the constant MKG comparisons. At one point I might've thought this was a good thing because I felt very high on Gilchrist. But Stanley better be way better than that.

[Marcus]

But Stanley better be way better than that.

he should be better than that. i think the Artest comps are the most accurate with Indiana Ron being where Stan will most likely ceiling out.

[HeartBreakKid]

Is Russell really that great? I haven't seen him play since the start of the season.

[Marcus]

Is Russell really that great? I haven't seen him play since the start of the season.

he's good. entertaining. shoots the 3 has a little flair to his game with his passing and ability to hurl the rock through the hoop off the bounce and in C&S situations.

If somebody in the league could coach him up and complete his game on both ends he can be a "star" in the way of being somebody folks would love to see on a nightly basis.

He isn't as good as Steph but he's somewhat tailored his game after him if that helps you understand what I mean by "star potential" and entertainment.

[WeNeverLeftAZ]

Stanimal balled out last night at Stanford. Beast

[GopherIt!]

Wiggins and Johnson together on the wing.

[djphan]

artest comparisons are very accurate... he looks and plays like him it is so eery.... people forget but peak artest was something special for a period of time and johnson is already a better shooter...

given the fact that he seems like a sane person... he could be the player artest was meant to be...

[ManualRam]

he doesn't have artest's defensive chops. stan's more athletic. ron was never that great of a leaper and he lacked quickness too. otherwise, in terms of build and offensive tendencies they're pretty similar.