Johnson, Gibson know Bulls history

James Johnson played point guard in high school and, just for the record, he's aware that a legendary forward who helped the Chicago Bulls win six championships in the 1990s did the same.

So he knows about Scottie Pippen.

Taj Gibson does, too.

The Bulls' draft picks have a good grasp of team history, and they could hardly contain their excitement Monday when they saw their images on the scoreboard above the court where Pippen and Michael Jordan used to soar.

"I felt like I won the lottery," said Johnson, the 6-foot-9 forward from Wake Forest and the 16th pick in the draft.

In a way, so did Gibson, the 6-foot-9 forward from Southern Cal taken with the 26th pick last week.

For three years, he heard stories about the NBA and the Bulls from coach Tim Floyd.

"He took me under his wing and showed me a lot," Gibson said. "He talked about the city of Chicago and how much he enjoyed it. For me to be here now, it's kind of crazy. We would talk about the Bulls nonstop — about how he wanted me to play, about certain plays he used to have."

Gibson hasn't talked to Floyd, who resigned three weeks ago amid allegations he funneled thousands of dollars in cash and gifts to O.J. Mayo through a representative of a sports agency, since the draft. He also insisted the problems at USC had nothing to do with his decision to turn pro.

"When coach Floyd first brought me to USC, academics were the main key," he said. "I always knew Mike Garrett would make a good decision in picking a coach."

He just felt it was time to make a move. So did Johnson.

Now, the Bulls believe they added two versatile forwards to a frontcourt that's looking crowded at the moment, with swingman John Salmons, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Brad Miller.

At 257 pounds, there are some concerns about Johnson's size, but he also can beat opponents off the dribble, hit the jumper and work inside. He averaged 15.0 points and a team-leading 8.5 rebounds as a sophomore last season for the Demon Deacons, who finished 24-7 and were top-ranked at one point, and he should be up for the NBA battles given his background.

One of nine children, Johnson is from one of Wyoming's top martial arts families. His dad is a seven-time world kickboxing champion and James is a karate champion.

Quitting wasn't an option in that family. Losing wasn't, either.

"I grew up getting toughed up, roughed up," Johnson said. "That's how we all were. We were all competitive. Playing basketball or fighting, we went hard at it."

Johnson and Gibson are joining a team that won 41 games last season and pushed defending champion Boston to the brink in a thrilling seven-game playoff series won by the Celtics. They'll also get to run with one of the top young point guards in Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose.

Gibson, who average 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.9 blocks last season, is getting this opportunity at age 24. He followed a long, winding path from Brooklyn to the NBA that included several high school transfers while jumping from the coast to coast, long days going against older players on the New York playgrounds and even a stint working as a furniture mover to help his family.

Home-schooled for his first two years in high school, Gibson then attended Telecommunications High in Brooklyn, but his parents felt he would be better off at a prep school in California. So Gibson attended Tarzana Stoneridge Prep and played another year at Calvary Christian High in Pacific Grove, Calif. But he had to scramble to get into USC when he learned his home-schooling grades didn't meet NCAA standards.

He wound up taking correspondence courses during the summer at Brigham Young and qualified for the 2006-07 season at Southern Cal, though his basketball education started long before that. It's rooted on the Brooklyn playgrounds and at Manhattan's legendary Rucker Park, where he was often matched against grown men and future NBA players growing up.

"It was just a great opportunity, time for me to get experience," Gibson said. "Coach Floyd, (when) he first met me, he talked to a couple guys that played in the NBA. And they said that they played against me and hoped that I would mature a little earlier. It worked out well for me."

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