Kentucky Wildcats Center Dakari Johnson looks like an NBA first round draft pick.
But with a strong finish to the college basketball season and a really exceptional NCAA Tournament Assistant Coach Kenny Payne On the development of Dakari Johnson …
“Very proud of Dakari Johnson as a staff. He has grown so much. He is running the floor very well. He is taking on the role of being a starter. He is looking up to the challenge. As long as he keeps getting better and keeps fighting, he’ll do well for us.”
Okay that was really vague and cliche. That didn’t tell us much, but it does underscore the rawness of Johnson.
Here’s where we have Dakari in our latest 2015 NBA Mock Draft (full mock here)
18. Dakari Johnson, C, Kentucky, 6-10, Fr.
A big body down low, Dakari Johnson might need two years at Kentucky since he is still a work in progress on both ends of the floor.
Dakari Johnson on what’s different about him now from earlier in the season …
“getting the concept that if I don’t work hard I’m not going to play. If I’m not going to play hard out there and not listen to what Coach is saying, I’m not going to play. As long as I’m listening to what Coach Cal wants me to do, I’m going to be out on the court.”
Johnson on whether it’s time for the youth excuse to go away …
“Yeah, it’s time for that to go away. We know what we have to do. We know we just have to play with a lot of energy and compete for 40 minutes. As long as we do that we’ll be fine.”
No question, Dakari Johnson would be best served by staying in school another year.
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)