James Johnson

James Johnson is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Johnson currently plays the forward position for the Chicago Bulls. James Johnson was born February 20, 1987 and is the son of Willie and Vi Johnson. James has 6 brothers and 2 sisters and is the middle child of nine children. James‘ father Willie, is a former seven-time world kickboxing champion. James Johnson led his high-school to the class 4Astate championship scoring 25 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Johnson also led the Wyoming High School Athletic Association playoffs in scoring and rebounding (28 points, 9 rebounds) along with leading the state in blocks during his junior year in high-school.

James Johnson attended Wake Forest University where he played for only two seasons. During his two seasons at WFU, Johnson averaged nearly 15 points, over 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Johnson also recorded an impressive field-goal percentage of 51% and a respectable 30% from three-point range. Additional highlights of Johnson’s collegiate career at Wake Forest include:

Earned “Freshman All-American” honors Runner-up for ACC Rookie of The Year in 2008 Led the Demon Deacons in rebounding in both Freshman and Sophomore years. Led team in scoring and rebounding in Freshman year 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game (first time ACC freshman to record these numbers during a season) http://www.nba.com/playerfile/james_johnson/career_stats.html

James Johnson was drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick in the 2009 NBA draft. James has played 66 games for the Chicago Bulls during the 2009-2010 season and has started in 11. While James was an integral part of the his Wake Forest team in college, his playing time with the Bulls has been limited to say the least. Johnson only sees approximately 12 minutes of action each game and his game averages includes 4 points and 2 rebounds per appearance. With Joakim Noah starting at forward and fellow-rookie Taj Gibson maturing into an offense force coming off the bench, head-coach Vinny Del Negro has elected to stick with Gibson in the forward spot over Johnson meaning that Johnson’s role will more than likely be a limited one with the team in the playoffs as well as the foreseeable future as well. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/james_johnson/career_stats.html