Dakari Johnson: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile

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Mar 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Dakari Johnson (44) is guarded by Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Zach Auguste (30) during the first half in the finals of the midwest regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

Strengths

Johnson is pretty heavy for his age, but is exactly what you want for what he is. Right now he seems like a better version of Kendrick Perkins. He’s big, will make the guy he’s guarding work really hard for points, and he doesn’t need the ball. However, he can create space down low, catch it deep and make the defense pay.

For instance, take a look at these dunks!

He’ll definitely get more skilled as he learns and improves his explosiveness and conditioning with the NBA regimen day in and day out.

He is a great rebounder as seen by his No. 1 ranking of the 2015 prospects with 5.7 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes adjusted. He seems to make that effort play that doesn’t get on the stat sheet, but that your teammates love and plain wins you games.

Johnson just plays hard. In the NBA, players can get complacent, sometimes conserving their energy for their “calling card” or “the thing they do that makes them their big bucks,” which is usually scoring. For Johnson, that’s probably going to be his hustle when he gets to the next level.

He has improved his conditioning. Just that fact is good for whatever team drafts him come June. They want to know a player can identify a weak point in their game, work on it, and improve.

According to DraftExpress, he’s a “hard worker, positive guy, good teammate [with a] high character.” With his other attributes on the court, what else can you ask for this deep in the draft?

Next: Weaknesses

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