Indiana Pacers: 2018 NBA Draft grades

No. 50: Alize Johnson, Missouri State

Alize Johnson was not one of the buzzier names you heard floating around the second round of the NBA Draft heading into Thursday night. A 6’8″, 216-pound forward who played in the little known Missouri Valley Conference, Johnosn’s rise is nothing short of a monumental one.

Four years ago, despite being named Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball during his senior year of high school, Johnson received as many Division I offers as yours truly. After two years at a community college, he transferred into Missouri State University and promptly was named First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference over his junior and senior seasons.

He averaged a double-double last year, including taking 4.4 3-pointers per game while playing power forward. He only hit 28 percent on those attempts, but if he can further develop that range, he could turn into a very useful rotation player. Some even have loftier expectations than that:

Overall, like most second round picks, if the Pacers can get anything from Johnson this season, they’ll probably be pretty happy. That being said, with the uncertain contract situation of Thaddeus Young (player option) and the ability to possibly part ways with Bojan Bogdanovic due to a small guarantee on his contract, there could be an opening for a large wing to get some time on the floor for Indiana.

If nothing, it sounds like he’s ready to get to work and earn his keep:

With NBA Summer League here before we know it, we should keep a close eye on the kid who has done nothing but defy expectations so far in his young career.

Grade: B