Purdue Boilermakers senior forward/center JaJuan Johnson was recognized for his early-season efforts on Wednesday when Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News counted him among his five college basketball midseason All-Americans.
The second AP Preseason All-American in Purdue history, Johnson is averaging 19.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game on the season. In two Big Ten games, the Indianapolis native is producing at a rate of 20.5 points and 8.5 boards per outing.
Johnson is ranked 28th in Division I in scoring and 35th in blocks per game. He also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in both points and rebounds per game, while ranking second in blocks and sixth in minutes played.
“He doesn’t have the bulk of many inside players, but that doesn’t mean teams can push him around,” DeCourcy wrote. “Johnson delivers as a scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker and eagerly embraced a heavier load once classmate Robbie Hummel was lost for the year with a knee injury.”
Johnson has scored in double figures in 23-consecutive contests, leading the Boilermakers in points six times on the year. He has also paced the Boilers in rebounds seven times and in blocks in each of the team’s 14 games. He has five double-doubles on the season, moving into 13th place on the program charts with 19 for his career.
Perhaps the signature moment of Johnson’s season through 14 games is his 29-point barrage at Virginia Tech to propel the Boilers to a 58-55 overtime victory and the Big Ten to its second-straight ACC/Big Ten Challenge win. He scored Purdue’s first 11 points of the game, and nailed a jump hook with eight seconds left to send the game into extra time.
Johnson also had a career-high 31 points in front of friends and family at Conseco Fieldhouse to lead Purdue to a win over Indiana State in the Boilermaker BlockBuster. He tallied 25 of the Boilers’ 32 first-half points, including the team’s first 17 points.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net , a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to the Tribune’s Chicago Now network, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
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