A very fair question and I think I was probably a little too harsh on Johson, especially considering the amount of prospects who aren’t actually in the tournament. I was probably thinking the draft class overall in my mind. That being said, he’s definitely one of the better prospects in the tournament, and I would only drop him to the 5-10 range because of his age. Obviously Blake Griffin is at the top of the list. The next group of guys for me is DeJuan Blair, Willie Warren and Jeff Teague. Then I give the close nod to Jordan Hill right ahead of Johnson. Demar Derozan and Jrue Holliday can also make a case because they’re younger. So Johnson then fits right in at about 6-8, ahead of the next group of guys – Devan Ebanks, Tyreke Evans, Al-Farouq Aminu, Toney Douglas, and Ty Lawson. Having watched Johnson as much as I/we have I/we know his strengths and weaknesses better than any one of the other guys mentioned (besides Teague), and perhaps for me this is just a case of the grass being greener on the other side. I do feel a little awkward trying to defend an anti-James Johnson position, because I agree that he can definitely be special – but then again, I also thought Eric Williams would be a solid NBA big man. And just to round it out, the next group of guys in the tournament would be Gerald Henderson, Eric Maynor, Johnny Flynn, and probably Soloman Alabi.

So anyway, I’m glad you called me out on that comment so I could clarify, and realize that I was probably a little too harsh on Johnson. Now I just hope he can step up tonight and make us both look good.