OKC Thunder NBA draft prospect profile: Explosive athlete -Keon Johnson

Keon Johnson strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

The Tennessee wing has many unanswered questions based on his newness to the sport but the raw talent is evident. Considering the areas of the game that he excels at there is reason to believe his ceiling could be very high.

Of those gifts, his elite athleticism stands out both in terms of his ability to change pace and utilize speed to punish defenders and similarly how he applies that speed and lateral movement defensively. While he works to add range to his game he is capitalizing on that speed to score easily on drives and under the rim.

Teams will like his overall makeup of athleticism, a strong motor, natural raw talent, and a high I.Q.  The latter is most obvious in his ability on the defensive end of the court and how quickly he’s growing despite his limited years in the sport.

Johnson projects to become a player who’ll fill up the stat sheet as he aggressively crashes the glass and with time in the lab could become a decent playmaker.

Weaknesses:

The most glaring weakness of Johnson is his lack of offensive versatility. There is a clear need to revamp his shot to be more fluid and consistent. He shot an anemic 27.1 percent from the perimeter and 70.1 percent from the charity stripe in his single season with the Tennessee Volunteers.

The shooting guard will have to add that offensive versatility quickly if he wants to gain substantial playing time otherwise teams will just defend him to stop his drives.

Johnson’s ballhandling requires upgrades as he has a tendency to turn the ball over averaging 2.6 per game this past season.

Given how quickly he seems to be adapting and the commitment he puts into improving these are things that a great development staff can help him tweak in his rookie season.

The fact he’s already showcasing defensive aptitude bodes well although he also needs growth in this area and needs to add size but has a good frame.