Looking forward to March

[odhgibo]

DJ Wingfield is a stud. At least by looking at his stats he is. I wish I could find more information on Isaiah Johnson. He's definitely huge, but have you seen him play? If so, what are his strengths & weaknesses?

Must have far more strengths than weaknesses -- District POY

[yazan07]

Oh no not another DJ

[odhgibo]

DJ Wingfield is a stud. At least by looking at his stats he is. I wish I could find more information on Isaiah Johnson. He's definitely huge, but have you seen him play? If so, what are his strengths & weaknesses?

Apparently, free throw shooting is a weakness. Otherwise, I don't see much not to like - Season stats

[Blue & Gold]

Must have far more strengths than weaknesses -- District POY

Thank you for the link.

[Dave in Green]

@Blue & Gold, there's been a fair amount of info on Isaiah Johnson and the other recruits posted in the basketball recruiting forum, including scouting reports on Johnson.

EDIT: After posting the above, I see that you've been active in the recruiting forum. If you were looking for a specific description of Johnson's style of play, try this post.

[Blue & Gold]

@Blue & Gold, there's been a fair amount of info on Isaiah Johnson and the other recruits posted in the basketball recruiting forum, including scouting reports on Johnson.

EDIT: After posting the above, I see that you've been active in the recruiting forum. If you were looking for a specific description of Johnson's style of play, try this post.

Thanks, Dave. Yes, I've been actively following Isaiah in the recruiting forum.

What I'm really interested in is his current style of play correlating with his lower playing weight. This is the first year Isaiah didn't play football (OL) and I read somewhere that his coach said he'd lost about 30 pounds & had really trimmed down, so I've been looking for more recent updates describing his game as all of the reviews I've read are from when he was built like an OL.

I'm just trying to visualize the kind of player we're going to be getting.

[odhgibo]

Thanks, Dave. Yes, I've been actively following Isaiah in the recruiting forum.

What I'm really interested in is his current style of play correlating with his lower playing weight. This is the first year Isaiah didn't play football (OL) and I read somewhere that his coach said he'd lost about 30 pounds & had really trimmed down, so I've been looking for more recent updates describing his game as all of the reviews I've read are from when he was built like an OL.

I'm just trying to visualize the kind of player we're going to be getting.

Can't answer the first part, but here's a recent picture

[Dave in Green]

I've spent lots of time searching for more details on Isaiah and just haven't been able to come up with many details. I saw where his coach said he had lost a lot of weight, but the most recent weight I've seen him listed at is 265 pounds. I'm hoping that cincinnati.com will do a feature on him with more details since he was named POY. An interesting observation is that prior to the start of the season 6-11 Maverick Morgan was rated by some as the best pure center in this year's Ohio HS class. Morgan was also named on the Division I first team, but lost POY honors to Johnson. Morgan was recruited by John Groce and committed to Illinois.

[Dave in Green]

I don't think the O will be built for or around Pat. .....

What I meant about building around Pat's different skill set from Zeke's was not that they would build the whole offense around Pat, but that his skills would be taken into consideration along with every other players' skills, and the resulting offense and defense will be built somewhat differently from this season. I do disagree with your opinion that Coach Dambrot will not fully utilize Pat's offensive skills. Not many college teams have quick, agile, 6-11 centers who are consistently able to create their own shots. Pat can put a lot of pressure on other teams' defenses, and it would be a waste not to fully utilize his talents. I expect a typical Coach Dambrot balanced scoring attack with Pat getting his fair share of touches and scoring opportunities.

[Dave in Green]

@Blue & Gold, I've been vacuuming up bits and pieces about Isaiah Johnson in all the odd corners of the internet. I didn't collect links and can't vouch for any of the accuracy. But here are some tidbits to ruminate on. I found one site that has Isaiah listed at 250 pounds -- 30 pounds under the highest listed weight of 280. That may or may not explain the 30 pounds you mentioned his coach said he lost. He's variously listed from 6-8 to 6-10. Could be exaggeration or could be he's still growing. His wingspan is listed at 7-2, just 3 inches short of Zeke's 7-5. He is almost always described as a throwback, traditional center who likes to play with his back to the basket. His favorite player is Shaquille O'Neal, which may help to explain both his playing style and his weight. Despite his size, he has smooth moves and a soft touch. But he doesn't have great speed. He's basketball smart, knows his own strengths and weaknesses and doesn't try to overextend himself beyond his capabilities. He likes to score from the paint, and his teammates are all happy to feed the ball to him.

Some have said that his body is a little soft and that he'd benefit from a good weight training program. Xavier fans liked it when X offered him. But the minute he committed to Akron, they said X had soured on him and he belonged in the MAC. He's been described as a late bloomer in basketball because he was originally more focused on football, where he received offers from Kentucky and Louisville. His HS has a great academic reputation and he gets good grades. His goals are to get a college degree and play in the NBA. He lists his greatest achievement to date as receiving a scholarship to college. He's active in community service. His HS coach says of him, "“Isaiah is a giant with a gentle heart. His ability to get others to follow him is incredible. He is a natural born leader that comes from a solid family foundation that has groomed him to be successful.”"

[Dr Z]

Can't answer the first part, but here's a recent picture

Now that is worth all the words written. Thanks HS

[Hilltopper]

Now that is worth all the words written. Thanks HS

So, do you like what you see?

[Dave in Green]

Personally, I think this is a more flattering view of Isaiah .

[Blue & Gold]

@Blue & Gold, I've been vacuuming up bits and pieces about Isaiah Johnson in all the odd corners of the internet. I didn't collect links and can't vouch for any of the accuracy. But here are some tidbits to ruminate on. I found one site that has Isaiah listed at 250 pounds -- 30 pounds under the highest listed weight of 280. That may or may not explain the 30 pounds you mentioned his coach said he lost. He's variously listed from 6-8 to 6-10. Could be exaggeration or could be he's still growing. His wingspan is listed at 7-2, just 3 inches short of Zeke's 7-5. He is almost always described as a throwback, traditional center who likes to play with his back to the basket. His favorite player is Shaquille O'Neal, which may help to explain both his playing style and his weight. Despite his size, he has smooth moves and a soft touch. But he doesn't have great speed. He's basketball smart, knows his own strengths and weaknesses and doesn't try to overextend himself beyond his capabilities. He likes to score from the paint, and his teammates are all happy to feed the ball to him.

Some have said that his body is a little soft and that he'd benefit from a good weight training program. Xavier fans liked it when X offered him. But the minute he committed to Akron, they said X had soured on him and he belonged in the MAC. He's been described as a late bloomer in basketball because he was originally more focused on football, where he received offers from Kentucky and Louisville. His HS has a great academic reputation and he gets good grades. His goals are to get a college degree and play in the NBA. He lists his greatest achievement to date as receiving a scholarship to college. He's active in community service. His HS coach says of him, ""Isaiah is a giant with a gentle heart. His ability to get others to follow him is incredible. He is a natural born leader that comes from a solid family foundation that has groomed him to be successful.""

Wow, thanks Dave!

[Hilltopper]

Personally, I think this is a more flattering view of Isaiah .

I really like the look on that fans face. It looks like he can't believe the big guy can get up and throw it down like that!

[Quickzips]

Personally, I think this is a more flattering view of Isaiah .

HE'S HANGING ON THE RIM! THAT'S A TECHNICAL!

[Dr Z]

So, do you like what you see?

I do. I like his body type for Mac basketball. He should be looking forward to UA's weight training progrum.

Personally, I think this is a more flattering view of Isaiah .

Another exciting photo.

[odhgibo]

I do. I like his body type for Mac basketball.

I hope that his school hasn't fudged his height. (Could a 6'10" lineman really get low enough to get leverage?)

[Dave in Green]

Isaiah skipped HS football last fall to focus on basketball this season. It's possible he was closer to 6-8 when he last played football two seasons ago, and has grown an extra inch or two since then. Kentucky and Louisville thought enough of his abilities as a lineman to offer him football scholarships.