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By: Tyler Adkins
Dakari Johnson, the #1 ranked center and #12 overall prospect in the 2013 class according to ESPN, has committed to UK. He is the fourth 5-star prospect for the class and one UK needed. He is a massive player at 6-10, 250 pounds and is a player who will be able to carve up space in the interior to compliment the more athletic players UK is sure to have.
Johnson is not an exceptional athlete, but makes up for that with tremendous strength. He lost 20 pounds over the summer and is now a more fit, nimble player in the post. He is not a player who will play above the rim, but will use his body to create shots and get rebounds. Johnson has a variety of low post moves already, which is a huge advantage to a player his age. He seems to like playing in contact and actually seeks out contact. The advantage of that for him is with his size and strength, he is usually able to win those battles down low with body position instead of relying on athletic ability to jump over people.
Johnson is a perfect compliment to Marcus Lee and Derek Willis in the 2013 class, as he is the power player and they are the more athletic players down low. Johnson is a true big man and puts me in the mind of Jared Sullinger without the shooting ability from the outside.
Simply put, Johnson is a huge recruit for UK and gives UK that powerful presence down low that seems to be lacking from this years group. The other upside? He recently said he has no problem playing with either Nerlens Noel or Willie Cauley-Stein saying “if they come back then I will be able to practice against them everyday and it will only make me better, so I would welcome that.”
Johnson played on ESPN2 earlier tonight against 12th ranked Simeon (Johnson plays for #1 Motverde) and had 18 points and 2 blocks. Johnson picked UK over Georgetown and Syracuse.
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