SEC: Everyone Welcome Texas A&M Freshman Avery Johnson Jr.
Everyone has their favorite sport. They can watch it at anytime, they love talking about it, and they enjoy playing it every day.
What if you had a person in your house who was older than you, and loved that sport just as much and maybe if not more than you? The two of you could speak your favorite sport, watch it together and even play together at times.
Inside of the Johnson household in Texas, this had to occur because the Texas A&M freshman Avery Johnson Jr. is an amazing talent to watch. The son of a NBA champion and NBA Coach of the Year, Avery Johnson Jr. is a floor general similar to his father. Next season on the court inside of Reed Arena could Johnson Jr. become the floor general that Texas A&M has been missing?
The Aggies are getting an underrated guard who understands how to play the game of basketball. Watching his tape, we can see that Johnson Jr. does not allow his size to dictate his game against bigger guards. Standing at 5’11″ and 182 pounds, Johnson Jr. routinely gets into the lane and, better yet, knows how to finish when he is inside of the paint.
Obviously getting stronger and putting on more muscle is priority No. 1, but how many other freshman have to make that their main concern as well? Playing in a major college basketball conference, strength is important, but thankfully the wisdom, decision-making and skill is already there.
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One of the most toughest aspects of a point guard’s game is finding creative ways to finish drives inside of the paint. Some of the moves that Johnson Jr. uses when he is in the paint to score are the spin move, reverse
layups, initializing contact to draw fouls, shooting
floaters, and using his athleticism to do the up and under.
One of the most interesting aspects of Johnson Jr.’s game I really enjoyed watching is his ball handling ability. As a point guard, having control of the basketball is crucial since they are responsible for creating offense and getting their teammates into the flow of the game.
Johnson Jr. has really good handles for his position. He won’t attempt to cross you up and embarrass you, but if opponents reach in, they will get humiliated. The best part of his dribble is that Johnson Jr. gets to the point and will not take 20 dribbles to start the offense.
The one part of Johnson Jr.’s game that needs improvement is his shooting. Though his shooting form works now, it takes too slow to release and looks extremely awkward and way too mechanical. Getting his formed improved and working on practicing his jump shot will get it more smooth and natural.
Next season Johnson Jr. will have to come off the bench but it will help him more than hinder him. Competing with starting point guard Alex Caruso everyday will help him get better faster. Caruso is a 6’5″ guard that led the Aggies in assists with five a game.
It’ll be fun to see Caruso and Johnson Jr. share the backcourt together and run in transition. Having two guards on the floor that can create plays and get open shots for everyone will show itself as a necessity for a team who only scored 65.2 points a game, and only had 12.8 assists a game last year.
The 18-16 record that Texas A&M had last season should improve. This team has the talent on its roster to turn into a 20-win team.
For a freshman to come into a winning situation and winning culture is very important to his development. Early in Johnson Jr.’s freshman year he will get challenged by his teammates to become better and already join an atmosphere where his teammates are used to winning.
Playing with a bunch of hungry and talented players who want to make the NCAA tournament will make everyone better. Practices will get more competitive, games will become more fun to watch, and opponents will get nervous quicker playing against this Texas A&M team.
With teams that have good guard play in the SEC such as Ole Miss (Jarvis Summers) and Auburn (Antoine Mason and K.T. Harrell), Kentucky (the Harrison twins) , Texas A&M might have the talent to finally not get overmatched.
All of the writing on the wall says that Texas A&M can turn their year around and become a better team with Johnson Jr. Maybe his intelligence will help them become the team they want to turn into.