Wesley Johnson (Photo : Photo: Yahoo Sports)
It's hard for any highly-touted college player to make the transition into the NBA. But it's more difficult to become a journeyman, play for subpar teams, and find a niche in the league.
For Wesley Johnson, he ate all of those for breakfast - and then some.
The 4th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft went from being a Consensus First-Team All-American in the NCAA, to a promising prospect, all the way down to playing a supporting role for lottery-bound teams in the past.
Johnson, now playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, briefly shared his experience to Orange County Register's Janis Carr about his time with his previous team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
"You would go out there and want to play the right way, but everyone wanted to prove themselves," he told Carr during the Clippers' short training camp at UC Irvine.
He continued: "So nobody really knew what was going on. Nobody ever knew, so it was hard for anyone to come in and get into a good rhythm or flow. Nobody was playing together."
Reading between the proverbial lines, the 28-year-old forward out of Syracuse was probably reinforcing a lot of people's - fans and experts alike - claim about Lakers coach Byron Scott's directionless old school basketball methodologies.
Now, donning the fresh colors of the Clippers, Wesley Johnson plans to look ahead and leave behind the rather frustrating memories of the past.
Given that he has the height, the hops, and the versatility to contribute to any NBA team, Johnson just needs to dig deep and find that direction he once lost.
