Darius Johnson-Odom – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile
June 20th, 2019
Darius Johnson-Odom SG – 6’1, 220lbs – Born 28th September 1989 Iowa Wolves Prior to his return this season, Johnson-Odom had been away from the G-League for four years. The vast majority of that time had been spent in Italy, where he had been amongst the country’s highest scorers, leading it outright last season with Vanoli Cremona. Johnson-Odom always has been and always will be a scorer, a prolific one by volume as well as efficiency. Of that, there has long been no doubt. Johnson-Odom gets his points in pretty much every way conceivable. He is a ball-dominant player by trade, but if ever he is run off the ball, he has a very good spot-up shot he can use. When on the ball, he also shoots off the dribble, albeit not as well, yet he is primarily looking to get beyond the first line of the defence and make things happen. Johnson-Odom is very strong for his small size, and without having the greatest speed, he also pushes the ball wherever he can. If you need someone to get you a basket, he is always a good bet – he can drive both ways, finishes extremely well at the basket with his very strong upper body, makes excellent reads and never wavers in his confidence. Johnson-Odom, simply, is a workhorse. Given his size, DJO is always going to be a defender of point guards. Or at least, he should be. Playing alongside Jonathan Stark and Marquise Moore this season saw him play a lot of shooting guard, a position well suited to his offensive game yet one at which he gives up a significant degree of size. It is thus not a surprise that he was an overall net negative as a defensive player considering that the […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Boston
July 8th, 2013
Tim Abromaitis Abromaitis began his professional career this season in France, playing for perennial powerhouse ASVEL Villerbanne and averaging 8.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. He shot his usual 41% from three point range, and didn’t make many mistakes, yet nor did he (or does he) do much other than shoot. He doesn’t have Kyle Korver’s ability to get open or shoot off screens, he’s not as tall as Steve Novak, not as athletic as James Jones, and not as lucky as Luke Zeller. Abromaitis could in theory have Pat Garrity’s role in the NBA, but Pat Garrity was considerably better than Abromaitis before becoming the specialist that he did. Courtney Fells Fells continues to plug away in summer league, hoping to catch on, and has built up one of the biggest resumes of anyone here. He’s spent the last two regular seasons in Israel and the last two summers in the Dominican Republic, rarely getting hurt and certainly putting in his work. The off-ball scorer averaged 12.3 points per game for Hapoel Jerusalem this season, and his decision making and shot selection skills continue to show incremental improvements. However, Fells is still not a playmaker, still average to mediocre in the rest of the game other than the jump shot, and, nice as his shot is, it still doesn’t have electric three point range. A shooting specialist can’t always shoot in the 30% range. Fells would potentially have a Von Wafer-like role if his jump shot could make the leap, but it still hasn’t. Jayson Granger Granger’s decision to come to summer league now, after spending his entire career to date in Spain, is interesting. With his contract with Estudiantes this summer, perhaps this is his best chance of making the NBA. Granger continues to […]