By Paul M. Banks
Purdue forward/center JaJuan Johnson’s skill sets make him a prototypical Power Forward and NOT a Center in “The League”- should be decide to come out after this season.
Johnson is a 6-10 forward/center from Indianapolis who has been working hard on the fundamentals in order to take his game to the next level. “This offseason I really tried to get stronger. I improved in the weight room which is really important for me down low in the post,” he said specifically. And conversely, his biggest strength? “My versatility because I can shoot 15 footers, score down low and run the floor pretty well. I feel like I can give other big men a hard time,” JaJuan replied.
JJ had his 8th career double double in a big win over a top ten ranked team West Virginia team recently. Johnson put up a 25,10 in the Boiliers 77-62 win over the #6 Mountaineers. He’s currently the Boilermakers’ 2nd leading rebounder and 3rd leading scorer. Since he’s seen extensive time at both the four and the five in college, I asked JaJuan where he might play in “the league” if he had the choice to play either position.
“I think realistically a lot of teams, if I was fortunate enough to make it, it would probably be the four, so I’ve been working a lot on guarding on the perimeter, because if you’re able to do that, it makes more time for you to be on the court,” Johnson said.