AJ Johnson Scouting Report – Illawarra Hawks Guard 2024 NBA Draft Breakdown
Aj Johnson NBA draft player scouting report this is a guy that uh we are split on Riley because he’s 54th on our Collective Big Board I have him 61st overall just missing the cut of being drafted you have him 48th you are the highest of all four of us who worked on this project together on AJ Johnson uh AJ for you college basketball fans out there he was a fringe five star out of high school he was the 24th rated player in the country uh he had Texas on his list is a serious option for a while some other big schools and then nope I’m going to the NBL that’s what Aj Johnson said and uh it went okay I would say um the numbers are not pretty like single digit scoring just did not play much in his one season in the NBL so now we’re left to try and figure out what to do with this explosive 6’5 160lb combo guard that people loved out of high school and I don’t think know what to make of his game now what is one word to describe Aj Johnson I said highlights because if you watch his NBL highlights they’re special like he’s nailing threes off the bounce he’s dunking on dudes he’s throwing no look passes but then when you take a peak behind the curtain and I will say the highs and the the youth and the high school pedigree is why I still have him as a top 50 pick and why I think he’d be worth a gamble at that stage but what like you mentioned you take a peek behind the curtain played eight minutes per game for the illawara Hawks and that is slightly alarming to me that it was like I tried watching some Hawks games and I’m like how do you even evaluate this guy because they’re just not playing him yeah yeah he is like the and I don’t mean to slam the NBL with this but like this is the prototypical example of why I view it as a red flag when high school kids list the NBL as an option because every player that I’ve heard of or seen go to the NBL ends up playing like 10 minutes and that’s it and then goes to the draft and nobody knows who they are and I’m sure someday there’ll be a player that knocks out of the park and it works um we’ve seen a bunch of great guys from various professional leagues have a bunch of success in the NBA but it just it’s one of those things I would have loved to see what he did in college because I think there’s a lot of college teams who would have played him 30 minutes a game and instead were like just cutting up small moments of one play a game where he barely even got on the court and you don’t know what’s of it my word to describe Aj Johnson was mixtape because every highlight I see of him is like a wow play like there’s no quiet Aj Johnson plays and I I’m even doubly impressed that that’s the case given how little he played in real games cuz it’s like no look passes step back shots like bouncy Above the Rim creative stuff it’s fun I just don’t know how real any of it is and I guess we’ll find out is he more like to hit his floor or his ceiling in the NBA I it pains me to say but floor and that’s just I’ve said this on some of our other videos but being realistic mathematically speaking weak draft draft class not everybody can hit their ceiling and yeah it there’s a I think there’s a a real chance he is still raw didn’t really develop a ton in the NBL which I guess you could argue the opposite you know he had time playing against grown men in a tough league and maybe that helps him but I think the safer better sit in his floor yeah I uh I said ceiling and it’s just because of how wow I am by the wow play like I I think the ceiling’s high enough you got to acknowledge it you know there’s even that like we did a video breaking down the combine winners and losers I don’t know if you remember this G but I said Aj Johnson was my winner because my Aj Johnson scored 13 points in a game and dunked on somebody whereas you were looking at a score where he was like one for eight and had four points so it’s like yeah the highs the highs are really they do they make you open your eyes a little bit but it’s just like is he gonna be able to rec recreate that consistently the highs are impressive enough to me I’m gonna say he somehow stumbles into it and maybe I’ll be wrong but for a guy who’s mocked so low it feels like the highs are legit compared to a lot of other guys in this draft uh what’s a good team fit that you would like to see AJ Johnson land on said Spurs just because uh what let me see I had a note for they’re picking 48th and maybe he’s available at that point and I just think that’s a team that take as many get as many bites as the apple as you can for backcourt talent that was their biggest need this past year and if you take a point guard at four and number eight like Nicole toit and re Shepard like many people are mocking why not triple down on it with AJ Johnson in the second round I don’t hate that whatsoever I went to Indiana Pacers just because I would like to see his creativity in a free flowing fast system the way the Pacers have been um but again that’s selfish for me I don’t know that the Pacers would play him because they’re pretty playoff ready and I don’t know where aj Johnson fits into that uh what’s his best season in the NBA look like statistically 12 points four boards four assists oh that’s good I went nine points two assists and I was worried I’m being a little too Rosy but uh yeah I I mean I will not be surprised at all if he has like one really really good in the NBA or maybe even more than one mhm could happen where is he in five years uh the options here could be starter bench overseas g-league or podcaster or if you really want to you could do all NBA or Allstar but I don’t think either one of us are going to go there yeah I said bench and I know I think his ceiling if he really hits it is a starter or a part-time start I don’t think that’s going to happen that that’s why to explain why maybe that seems a little contradictory but yeah why still have him as a top 50 pick is a a bet on the upside bet on the youth that he figures it out and can become a a good bench piece in due time a went bench guy as well I think there’s a really good chance he’s a top 10 Talent on whatever organization he’s in in five years uh it’s just does the rest of it make sense enough for him to be in the role that he deserves but I think it’s a good chance he is most likely to what out of all players in this draft AJ Johnson is the most likely player to what most likely to gas up a coach he never played for uh and by that I mean Rodney Terry like I could see him tweeting out or posting on like yeah definitely tweeted out if if Rodney Terry Hot Seat rumors resurface it’s like man RT I was ready to go play for the Longhorns RT’s a good man good coach but that NBL like the NBL was just too appeal it or something like go into bat for for RT If he if he ends up back on the hot seat there’s an Instagram story that’s like a picture from his visit seven years ago my guy handshake Emoji I could see that um I like yours way better than mine I said Aj Johnson is most likely to play for three different teams in one calendar year um just like a pop around people keep buying lottery tickets at Aj Johnson and none of them commit to him long term and uh yeah we’ll see if the journeyman career becomes true if you like this video there’s 74 more of these on the channel go check them out the NBA draft is coming up and I’ve got something awesome for you we are partnering with the people at NBA 2K lab NBA 2K is the best video game on earth the people at 2K lab are making some awesome stuff to make that game even more fun and they just launched their 2024 NBA Draft simulator where you can find the official sleepers media Big Board we ranked our top 75 players in this draft class me Carter Brian Ralph Riley Davis we did it together and it is featured on the 2K lab NBA Draft simulator you can take control of any team in the draft play GM with just one click and see our entire rankings before these videos even come out check out the link 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The Sleepers give their scouting report of 2024 NBA Draft prospect AJ Johnson.
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