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Wake Forest ● Sophomore ● Forward ● 6-9 ● 245 ● 2/20/87
15.0 ppg ● 8.5 rpg ● 1.5 bpg (2008-09)
Highlights: Played two seasons at Wake Forest before leaving early for the 2009 NBA Draft ... Became the third player in program history to leave early for the NBA, joining Rodney Rogers in 1993 and Chris Paul in 2005 ... Two-time third team All-ACC honoree ... Freshman All-American and runner-up for ACC Rookie of the Year in 2007-08 ... Led the team in rebounding each of his two seasons ... Finished his career with 508 career rebounds ... Was one of the most athletic and versatile players in the ACC with the ability to play four of the five positions on the floor, from the two-guard spot to center ... Spent the majority of his time playing at the small forward and power forward positions ... Superior athletic ability stemmed partly from a martial arts background in kickboxing ... Handled the ball very well for a big man and was a solid outside shooter ... Possessed excellent jumping ability and was a powerful dunker.
2008-09 (Sophomore): Played in and started all 31 games ... Named third team All-ACC for the second straight season ... Received the highest number of votes of the third team honorees ... Selected as a mid-season candidate for the Naismith Trophy and a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award ... Led the team in rebounding for the second straight season, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game ... Combined with Al-Farouq Aminu to become the fourth-best rebounding duo in program history, averaging a combined 16.7 rebounds per game ... Ranked second on the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game ... Played an average of 30.5 minutes per game ... Led the Deacons in blocks (48), ranked second in steals (44) and was third in assists (62) ... Shot a team-best 54.2 percent from the field ... Averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds and shot 55.8 percent in ACC play ... Posted 10 double-doubles on the year to finish with 18 for his career ... Ranked third in the ACC in rebounding, second in defensive rebounds, third in field goal percentage, sixth in blocked shots and 17th in scoring ... Scored in double figures 21 times and led the team in scoring in seven games ... Led the Deacons in rebounding 18 times ... Ranked third on the team with 27 dunks ... Pulled down his 500th career rebound in Wake Forest's ACC Tournament game against Maryland, becoming the 32nd member of Wake Forest's 500 Rebound Club ... Ended the year on a tear, averaging 19.8 points and 10.6 rebounds over his last eight games ... Posted four double-doubles, had six 20+ point performances and shot 61.8 percent during the yearending stretch ... Hit the game-winning layup with 0.8 seconds left to beat Duke (Jan. 28) ... Led the team with 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks vs. Cleveland State in the NCAA Tournament (Mar. 20).
2007-08 (Freshman): Saw action in all 31 games with 28 starts ... Named third team All-ACC, becoming just the third Deacon freshman (Rodney Rogers, Chris Paul) to accomplish the feat ... Unanimous selection for the ACC All-Freshman Team ... Finished runner-up in voting for ACC Rookie of the Year ... Named a Freshman All-American by multiple publications ... Named ACC Rookie of the Week on Jan. 21 ... Led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game ... Became the first Deacon freshman in the ACC era to average at least 14 points and eight boards per game ... Rebounding average was the 13th-highest average ever by an ACC freshman ... Combined with Jeff Teague to become just the fourth set of freshmen to rank 1-2 on their team in scoring and the second duo to accomplish the feat with a winning record ... Led Wake in scoring 11 times and in rebounding 18 times ... Posted eight double-doubles on the year to rank fourth in the ACC ... Scored 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting Mar. 8 vs. NC State ... Had 10 points and nine rebounds in ACC Tournament loss to FSU on Mar. 13.
Personal: Given name is James Patrick Johnson ... Son of Vi and Willie Johnson ... Father is a seventime world kickboxing champion ... James has used martial arts to train and went 21-0 in competition ... Is the middle child in a family of nine children ... Has six brothers and two sisters ... Born Feb. 20, 1987 ... Has a 41-inch vertical leap ... Committed verbally to Wake Forest in August 2006 ... Selected Wake Forest over offers from Cincinnati, Kansas, Maryland and Wyoming ... Committed verbally to the Deacons in late August of 2006, the same week as Jeff Teague.
