3. Jalen Johnson, F, Duke
As the Duke Blue Devils once again reload with a vaunted class of heralded recruits, the gem of the group is Jalen Johnson out of Nicolet High School in Milwaukee. The 6-foot-8 forward heads to Durham and will immediately be relied upon as a versatile playmaker who looks ideally suited to be a matchup nightmare at the NBA level.
For a player of his size and at his position, Johnson is going to be a problem for most defenses in his lone season in college basketball. He’s a terrific ball-handler, especially in transition, and has great vision and playmaking both as a score and facilitator in that capacity. Those traits will help to set him apart from other forwards with his build and abilities.
Johnson is not a perfect player and his season under the tutelage of Mike Krzyzewski will be critical to how high he’ll go in the NBA Draft. He needs to show a more consistent outside shot if he’s going to hold up at the next level and he also must be a more willing and stout defender as well.
But even with those areas of concern, that will only determine how highly Johnson will be drafted, not if he’ll be a lottery pick or not. His unique skills for his position and frame give him tantalizing upside that NBA teams picking in the top 14 won’t be able to resist.