Louisville basketball: Projecting the next NBA draft prospect

David Johnson, PG/SG, Sophomore

Johnson has all of the tools in his bag to be a first round pick in the NBA Draft sooner rather than later. At 6’5″, he is a big combo guard that has all the athleticism you could want.

He scored off the bounce as well as anyone in the ACC last year despite averaging just 6.3 points per game. He also had 31 total assists in his last six games before the season was shut down due to Covid concerns.

Johnson came into his own scoring 8.9 points per game in the last 15 games of the season along with 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and one steal.

If David Johnson ends up with a triple double in a game this year, I do not think anyone that follows Louisville basketball religiously would be shocked at all.

With his plus-athleticism and size for the position at point guard or shooting guard, Johnson will have to take the next step in his development to show he is as elite of a scorer off the bounce as he advertised in his spurts last season.

The one thing Johnson was not in 2019-20 was a three point shooter. Johnson continuously passed up open shots on the perimeter to get to the rim. While that will work in college with that kind of elite trait, Johnson will have to prove to the NBA that he has the ability to hit a three-pointer or a 15-foot jumper. Johnson only shot 5-for-23 from three point range during the 2019-20 season.

I have a lot of faith in David Johnson and his ability. He already has the size and athleticism. He now needs to hone in on his elite trait to score off the dribble. If he can prove he still can do that at an elite level and improves on his lackluster jump shot, Johnson will be drafted as early as 2021.

Projected pick range: Late Round 1, 2021