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Chicago Bulls: 3 2021 draft prospects to watch this college hoops season

By Andrew Miller

Cade Cunningham, Chicago Bulls Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Cade Cunningham, Chicago Bulls Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nicolet’s Jalen Johnson scores two of his 17 points during the Knights’ 77-52 sectional semifinal victory over Whitefish Bay at Port Washington High School on March 12, 2020.Nicolet 1 March 12 2020
Nicolet’s Jalen Johnson scores two of his 17 points during the Knights’ 77-52 sectional semifinal victory over Whitefish Bay at Port Washington High School on March 12, 2020.Nicolet 1 March 12 2020 /

2) Chicago Bulls ’21 college draft targets

A potential very fast rising lottery draft target that the Bulls could set in their sets early in the 2020-21 college hoops regular season is the Duke Blue Devils former elite five-star recruit and versatile freshman guard/wing Jalen Johnson. Legendary Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t see the best outing out of his top-15 ranked team in their regular season opener.

But we can’t put too much stock into any one college team’s performance in a regular season opener after a very long and weird 2020 offseason. It might take a while for this young Duke team to rally behind uber-talented players such as Johnson and fellow standout freshman guard DJ Steward. Johnson definitely got off to a hot start in Duke’s season opener, though, in a too close for comfort win over Coppin State over the weekend.

Johnson registered a whopping 19 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks, five assists, no steals, and seven turnovers. He shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, and 1-of-1 from beyond the arc. Johnson also was perfect on two free-throw attempts in the win over Coppin State.

To a bigger point, Johnson is likely to continue to be big for this Duke team this season. He was a huge part of Duke’s 2020 recruiting class. Coming out of Nicolet High School in Milwaukee, WI, Johnson was one of the best prospects of his cycle. He ranked as the nation’s No. 13 2020 high school prospect, No. 3 small forward, and the top overall prospect out of Wisconsin (247Sports Composite).

There’s a real chance that, if he has a solid freshman campaign and continues to show this level of promise in his game, Johnson can be a very high lottery pick in the 2021 draft. He’s already a very versatile offensive talent that can distribute the ball, create his own looks from all levels, rebound amazingly well, and apparently protect the rim.

The wing defending is something that will have to improve for Johnson moving forward, though.

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