WALTHAM, Mass. — Dakari Johnson is one of seemingly dozens of Kentucky products hoping to be selected in the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft.
The Boston Celtics drafted one such prospect, James Young, in last year’s draft, and Johnson said he’s been impressed with the strides Young is making after a shaky rookie campaign.
“I watch a lot of NBA basketball,” Johnson said Wednesday after completing a pre-draft workout with the Celtics. “I’ve had NBA League Pass ever since I was in high school, so I watch a lot of basketball. The Celtics with Coach (Brad) Stevens, they have a really good team and a winning mentality. All their young guys (are) in the gym this summer. I caught up with James Young, my former teammate. He’s improving, too, so I really like the development they have going on with their young players.”
Young always has been known as a knockdown shooter, but his defensive shortcomings and slow adjustment to the NBA game kept him in the D-League for much of this season. Johnson, who, like Young, began his freshman season at Kentucky in 2013, is confident his fellow ex-Wildcat will be a much more consistent contributor as an NBA sophomore.
“He’s just improving each and every day,” Johnson said. “His work ethic has definitely gotten better since college. He just loves being in the gym now.
“… I think a lot of people are going to be impressed with what they see.”
Some additional notes from Wednesday’s six-man workout:
— Notre Dame product Pat Connaughton said he and Stevens traded some jabs about this year’s NCAA Tournament, during which Connaughton’s Fighting Irish knocked off Butler, the team Stevens coached before joining the C’s.
“It was great to, I guess, play under him for an hour and a half, whatever you want to call it,” Connaughton said. “We had our jokes about the Bulter-Notre Dame game this year. He’s 1-0 and when he’s faced Notre Dame, and I let him know that’s because I wasn’t there when he faced Notre Dame. It was fun. It’s always fun to have a little talk with the coaches — the guys you could possibly play under in a year.”
— The 6-foot-5 Connaughton blew scouts away with his 44-inch vertical leap at last month’s NBA Draft Combine — an attribute only seldom showed off during his time in South Bend, Ind.
“You didn’t see me necessarily driving the lane and throwing down hammer dunks on people,” Connaughton explained. “Besides Jabari Parker one time. Sorry, Jabari.”
“But it’s just because I wasn’t asked to do it,” he continued. “I was 100 percent willing to sacrifice that to find a way to win games. Whether it was play the four, I was willing to do it. I think as awesome as that jump was, I was just as happy that the other test scores were up there, as well — the lateral speed, the straight speed, things of that nature — just to show that it’s not just jumping for rebounds. I can get off the ground, and I can run fast.”
— Where is Connaughton’s next workout?
“Dare I say New York?” the Arlington, Mass., native said with a smile. “I’ll try to tank that one.”
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
