Connecticut Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting

JOHNSON, ORTON SHINE AT LJSA

Noel Johnson and Daniel Orton Show Colleges their talent

by Doug Ferguson

Noel Johnson, G/F from Fayetteville, GA

Schools of Interest: Louisville, USC, Virginia Tech, Connecticut, Wake Forest, Michigan State

Strength: 3-point shooting, 3-point shooting, 3-point shooting

Area of Improvement: Development of slashing and driving ability

Skinny: Rick Pitino is a coach that is in love with the 3-point shot. He was one of the first coaches to imbrace it at its inception and has continued to take advantage of its value over the years. It comes as no surprise then that he is interested in Noel Johnson, one of the best perimeter shooters in the ’09 class in Noel Johnson. The 6’6, 183 lb swingman really reminds me of former UCONN sharpshooter Rashad Anderson, but way less streaky and better ability to get his own shot. He was on fire on Monday. His size and length give him the ability to get off a shot even when being guarded well. It also covers up a lot of technical deficiencies in his defense. It all comes down to his ability to perform the game’s essential task though. A person can have all the length, size, and quickness in the world, but the concept of the game is to put the ball in the hoop and Johnson can do that with anyone.
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Daniel Orton, C from Oklahoma City, OK

Schools of Interest: Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, UCLA

Strengths: Adds a nightly double-double to any lineup he steps into.

Area of Improvement: Needs to develop a more complete offensive game to get maximum value from his physical gifts.

Skinny: Big man Daniel Orton (6-foor-9, 258 lb) has appeared time after time in everybody’s top 20. His list of schools reads as a who’s who in powerhouse programs. Whomever wins the Orton sweepstakes will get “safe” rather than “sexy”. Orton is from the country and he is country strong. He should immediately step in and be one of the top rebounders in whichever conference he plays. He is equally impressive defensively. Of all the big men at the Skills Academy, he came the closest containing Demarcus Cousins. He was the only person with the strength to keep Cousins out of dunk range. There is still a lot to be desired with him on offense. He has a limited repertoire in which most of his scoring comes on put-backs and open dunks. He gets enough of these though and his defense/rebounding is at such a high level that teams can afford to take a chance that his offensive game will develop.

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