Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 3:17 pm  |  36 responses

Video: Dakari Johnson, 14-Year-Old Prodigy

At age 14, Dakari Johnson is drawing the eyes of high school and college scouts across the country. He stands at 6-9 (!), weighs 240 lbs. and is equipped with a strong interior game and solid athleticism. Check it out for yourself.

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  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    He’s got no lift whatsover. Hopefully a good trainer gets with him and can help him finish stronger around the basket. Otherwise he may be a perennial 300 lb dude like Stanley Roberts or Tractor Traylor and have a limited career, if he can get to the league. Everything down low was was a layup. I’m not sure how many 6′ 9″, 240 lb kids there are in high school that could match up with him….. otherwise dude should be crushing EVERYONE near the basket. He made a couple of nice little bounce passes out of the double and kind of looks to be 25 years old in the face. I’ll keep his name in my memory and remember where I heard it first if he blossoms like a young Shaq.

  • http://thephotoriot.com davidR

    as long as he develops solid post moves, i think he’ll be fine. but man, 6’9 240 as a 14 year old? like eboy said, hopefully he gets a good trainer to keep his growth in check

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Meh… Jahlil Okafor. Same size, same age, same grade. Whitney Young HS. You’ll hear about him soon.

  • Myron Bess

    Great Hands, Great footwork, good moves, good personality for a kid that just turned 15 years old. Should be a Pro, the potential is there. I have seen Okafor also, he has same ability. I have had the priviledge of having Dakari play with my AAU team a couple times. Also, coached against Okafor. These two young men are the cream of the crop big men in the class of 2014. Godd luck to both kids.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    @Byran Crawford – My Blue Demons already offered him a scholarship. Crossing my fingers…but not holding my breath.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    If he is really the age he says he is, he is incredibly advanced on the block.
    did y’all not notice how he felt for the man, the way he squared up? how he attacked under control? That is incredibly unusual for a high school post player of his age.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Moose

    First dude my age to be covered on SLAM. Sure as hell doesn’t look 15 though….man.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Moose

    And it’s stories like this that makes me really hope that his career doesn’t fizzle out real soon.

  • BC 33

    theres no way this dude is 14 years old

  • http://Www.dimemag.com Royal

    When I was in 8th grade my friend Terrell (plays at UMASS now)was 6’6 and could not even dunk but he worked with a trainer and developed decent jumping ability.So this kid could possibly get some bounce before it’s all said and done.

  • abaci

    30 bucks says he is greg oden’s grandchild

  • Hakeem Da Dream

    Trey Lyles from Indianapolis (only a freshman) will be a stud as well. Most likely headed to IU to play with his buddy James Blackmon Jr. (already committed).

  • Zarfan

    blah blah potential blah blah blah the future blah blah blah stays on the right path blah blah

  • pennydunk_1

    hope he becomes an astrologist

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    They were bum rushing him something fierce. Hope he has a real cool head on his shoulders because he’s going to see that for his entire playing days.

  • Daniel Dragicveich

    He’s not a prodigy, he’s just a freakishly tall 40 year old look dude with no calf muscles!

  • hammer

    …And the trend continues. Building up a kid that’s only 14,just a kid,n2 a possible prima donna that gets hand outs such as cars,$ or women. And then gets n trouble when it all blows n his face or doesn’t live up 2 expectations and then becomes irrelevant like so many past cases. And that’s when every1 who gave the kid hand outs or said that he could b something dissapears all of a sudden and does like jayz and goes on 2 the next 1. I understand it is a part of sports culture,but it has got 2 stop. The boosters,the agents. But as wu tang says: Cash Rules Everything Around Me. As long as some1 has a chance 2 get paid,this will continue. Its pathetic,its infuriating and its sad

  • Jake

    It’s so weird that he can’t really dunk that well…I was pulling 360′s in 8th grade and I’m a hair under 6’4”….and white.Someone get this kid a personal trainer PUHLEASE!

  • Groves

    Talented kid, but not super athletic, so he has to develop solid offensive and defensive skill (blocking and positioning) in the post. passing seemed good. But how is he going tofinish against bigger defenders. If he’s going to be a ‘Prodigy’ i expect some real ball handling and some wing scoring and shooting (not necessarily 3pt range). Call me when hes 18 and tell me if hes still dominant

  • SpaceJam

    Man it so ain’t fair. I wish my dad was taller. Get me somea them tall genes. Man I’m 14 and I’m only 5’9. If you took my skills and just gave me 6’2, ooh buddy. Wait till I hit that growth spurt

  • The Philosopher

    Oliver Miller Jr.

  • http://slamonline.com The Black Rick Kamla

    @SpaceJam, don’t wait for a growth spurt, get in the gym grab a ball and give your game a growth spurt. We are delt certain cards in life, we’re measured by how we play them. If your 5’9″ watch the things that guys like Chris Paul do when they’ve got the rock and adapt. Genes don’t make a basketball player, work does…if genes made the baller everybody in Team Flight Brothers would be millionaires…doesn’t happen that easily, but if you work at it and dedicate yourself to a dream, dreams come true…………..lol sorry for preaching to you, but being 5’9″ myself I know what you’re feeling

  • kd35

    Jake
    no one cares, are you a top recruit? if you read these forums you would think there are a ton of 15 year old white kids who have crazy hoops, so unless you have a video stfu

  • Jacob (from Australia)

    He’s only 14 and that tall, clearly his body hasn’t caught up with the insane growth spurts. Give him time and the athleticism will come with more training, practice and game time. Jeez, everyone is so quick to point out the negatives but his post game is amazingly developed as mentioned above.

  • JTaylor21

    Looks like someone mom was injecting human growth hormones into their lunchtime snack. Wait till I have a kid; I’ll freaking work that kid like a government mule.

  • http://Slamonline.com Cmonpeoples

    Dude looks like beetlejuice from the stern show lol

  • Hambone

    so they dont call offensive fouls and travels in h.s?

  • Yesse

    14 my ass and the guys he plays against can’t be 14. They look even older than him. This kid needs a good trainer to keep him injury free. Big men always have troubles in injuries.

  • j4zzm4n

    so i’m 6’3 and have the hops of steve nash but i found a way to make my game work and work well at that. spacejam all it takes is work i play pf at my height so all it takes is a reflection of what you do and make it work for you hell i get more rebounds than a lot of players who are much taller than me.

  • j4zzm4n

    so i’m 6’3 and have the hops of steve nash but i found a way to make my game work and work well at that. spacejam all it takes is work i play pf at my height so all it takes is a reflection of what you do and make it work for you hell i get more rebounds than a lot of players who are much taller than me.

  • http://dsfjklf.com Jukai

    No matter how tall you are, you always wish to be taller. In High School, my coach sort of FORCED me to have a perimeter game but my favorite way of playing basketball is posting around the basket. Problem is, when I play guys who are really taller, I can’t score jack.
    I’m 6’3. I’m pretty tall. But I will look at my 6’6 friend and say “man, if I was that tall, it’d be different.”
    You ALWAYS wish you were taller when you’re playing basketball. In the end it makes no difference. This kids tall, but I wasn’t enamored by his height. As Allenp said, his game is pretty advanced. He avoided defenses several times by moving the ball and his body, the timing and technique when he was doing that impressed me. It’s par on course for a guy going to the pros, but this kid is 14. Fourteen year olds don’t play like that.
    Just impressive. Pure and simple.

  • All Day

    That kid is like Greg Oden. Cats who look much older than their actual age. He probably has to carry around his birth certificate just to prove how old he is.

  • Len Bias

    He’s from New York so you know what that means
    He’ll be over hyped and amount to nothing

  • barnabusb

    Meh, I’ve seen 6’0″ kids look more impressive than that.

  • rich

    240 at 14 years old? i would say he needs to do some plyos cuz he looks about as fluid as ice with his running and lift. i dont even know if its possible to lift 240 at the age of 14 so i think he will at least have moderate sucess in college if he dusnt screw himself up during high school

  • Pete

    Ive played with him the dude is sick. Hes going places. He played with Scott County this summer and shut dowm Michael Chandler. He will be in the league someday

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