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
In a way, so did Gibson, the 6-foot-9 forward from
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
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
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
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
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
He wound up taking correspondence courses during the summer at Brigham Young
and qualified for the 2006-07 season at
"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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