Now that the AAU/camp season is over, we'll take an in-depth look at each of Purdue's 2012 and 2013 recruits, in addition to its two remaining 2012 targets.
Today: Ronnie Johnson
Prior: Kendall Stephens
July review
Last month alone, we saw him at adidas in Indy, the Summer Jam in Milwaukee and in Fort Wayne at the end of the month, in addition to countless times in the spring and in one junior all-star game.
Strengths
Since Johnson's commitment is still relatively new, we've been through a lot of this stuff recently, but he's the consummate floor general type of point guard who makes people around him better. He's helped get some offers for some AAU teammates this summer, that's for sure.
Johnson just sees the floor incredibly well and has an uncanny knack for setting up passes, whether it be with his own movement or with his patience in letting things develop. He has a tremendous sense of where everyone is on the floor, to the point where he might look sometimes like he's making a bad decision before it becomes apparent he really knows what he's doing and you don't.
He's not elite quick, but certainly quick enough to get past people and he's fast, particularly driving baseline with his left-handed cross-over. Ask Nick Osborne how good Johnson is at getting to the rim, drawing a defender and dishing off to a crashing big. Johnson's really good with angles.
Johnson's very aggressive in the open floor. Like a lot of point guards, he tries to push at every opportunity and generally seems to know everything going on a court's length ahead of him before he even gets the ball in his hands. Whoever plays with him at Purdue had better be willing to run if they want the ball.
Offensively, he's making more and more shots of late. Three-point shooting used to be a deficiency, but he's had a good spring and summer, though he's been prone to the occasional run of five straight misses. He's not what you might call a natural shooter - he kind of hoists the ball and flings it from a stand-still - and can be streaky. He can go 5-7 one game and 1-6 the next.
In Fort Wayne especially, Johnson showed a really impressive one-handed runner in the lane, an intermediary scoring option that could make him really dangerous and balanced as a scorer. Really good scoring point guards can do so from various levels and Johnson can.
Offensively, I think him being left-handed is definitely an advantage, just because people aren't used to guarding southpaw ball-handlers.
Defensively, Johnson will fit well into what Purdue does, because he's tough and competitive and takes defense seriously.
Weaknesses
Johnson is not big by any means and doesn't yet possess the strength to really offset it, the way Lewis Jackson does with his strength. Johnson, however, is doing just fine as is.
He can be streaky as a jump-shooter, but scoring is not what will define him as a college player. His passing and defense will.
Super-fun comparisons
Again, we're going with just ridiculous names here, but there is some Mike Conley there in Ronnie Johnson, though Conley's a little bigger and a better athlete. Similar styles of play, though.
Position
Johnson is a point guard in every sense of the term. He can play off the ball some, but there's no sense in using him that way in college. He needs the ball in his hands.
Final analysis
So somebody told me this story the other day and I think it's pretty harmless, so I'll share:
In Fort Wayne, coaches are sitting there watching Johnson play. One says to another, 'Hey, who's Purdue's all-time assists leader?' The other coach just pointed at Johnson.
He's one of the best point guards in the country and a tailor-made fit for Purdue.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
GoldandBlack.com Mobile for your Android
Check out GoldandBlack.com on
Today: Ronnie Johnson
Prior: Kendall Stephens
July review
Last month alone, we saw him at adidas in Indy, the Summer Jam in Milwaukee and in Fort Wayne at the end of the month, in addition to countless times in the spring and in one junior all-star game.
Strengths
Since Johnson's commitment is still relatively new, we've been through a lot of this stuff recently, but he's the consummate floor general type of point guard who makes people around him better. He's helped get some offers for some AAU teammates this summer, that's for sure.
Johnson just sees the floor incredibly well and has an uncanny knack for setting up passes, whether it be with his own movement or with his patience in letting things develop. He has a tremendous sense of where everyone is on the floor, to the point where he might look sometimes like he's making a bad decision before it becomes apparent he really knows what he's doing and you don't.
He's not elite quick, but certainly quick enough to get past people and he's fast, particularly driving baseline with his left-handed cross-over. Ask Nick Osborne how good Johnson is at getting to the rim, drawing a defender and dishing off to a crashing big. Johnson's really good with angles.
Johnson's very aggressive in the open floor. Like a lot of point guards, he tries to push at every opportunity and generally seems to know everything going on a court's length ahead of him before he even gets the ball in his hands. Whoever plays with him at Purdue had better be willing to run if they want the ball.
Offensively, he's making more and more shots of late. Three-point shooting used to be a deficiency, but he's had a good spring and summer, though he's been prone to the occasional run of five straight misses. He's not what you might call a natural shooter - he kind of hoists the ball and flings it from a stand-still - and can be streaky. He can go 5-7 one game and 1-6 the next.
In Fort Wayne especially, Johnson showed a really impressive one-handed runner in the lane, an intermediary scoring option that could make him really dangerous and balanced as a scorer. Really good scoring point guards can do so from various levels and Johnson can.
Offensively, I think him being left-handed is definitely an advantage, just because people aren't used to guarding southpaw ball-handlers.
Defensively, Johnson will fit well into what Purdue does, because he's tough and competitive and takes defense seriously.
Weaknesses
Johnson is not big by any means and doesn't yet possess the strength to really offset it, the way Lewis Jackson does with his strength. Johnson, however, is doing just fine as is.
He can be streaky as a jump-shooter, but scoring is not what will define him as a college player. His passing and defense will.
Super-fun comparisons
Again, we're going with just ridiculous names here, but there is some Mike Conley there in Ronnie Johnson, though Conley's a little bigger and a better athlete. Similar styles of play, though.
Position
Johnson is a point guard in every sense of the term. He can play off the ball some, but there's no sense in using him that way in college. He needs the ball in his hands.
Final analysis
So somebody told me this story the other day and I think it's pretty harmless, so I'll share:
In Fort Wayne, coaches are sitting there watching Johnson play. One says to another, 'Hey, who's Purdue's all-time assists leader?' The other coach just pointed at Johnson.
He's one of the best point guards in the country and a tailor-made fit for Purdue.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
Check out GoldandBlack.com on
