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Bulls grab Wake's Johnson in NBA draft

William Perry once participated in "WrestleMania" when he played for the Bears.

Bulls first-round draft pick, 6-foot-8 Wake Forest forward James Johnson, comes from a dedicated martial arts family. His father Willie was a seven-time world kickboxing champion and now runs J&P's Martial Arts school in the Johnson's hometown of Cheyenne, Wyo. Eight of the nine kids in the family are black belts.

Johnson himself went 20-0 in kickboxing competitions and also won a mixed martial arts event in high school. But Bulls general manager Gar Forman mentioned Thursday that there will be no cage matches in Johnson's future.

"I don't think he's doing it any more," Forman said. "If he is, it will be in his contract that he's not."

Overall, the Bulls felt they had a very successful draft night, adding 6-foot-10 USC forward Taj Gibson with the 26th pick.

Forman admitted that when the Bulls explored moving up in the draft this week, Johnson was the target they had in mind. The Bulls certainly would have taken Johnson ahead of the three players selected before the Bulls' pick - Tyler Hansbrough, Earl Clark and Austin Daye. If Johnson was off the board, the Bulls most likely would have taken Ohio State center B.J. Mullens.

"We made ourselves a little better tonight," Forman said. "When the night started, if we knew this would be the outcome - we would have taken it right from the get-go."

Johnson did not attend the draft in New York. He joined a teleconference with media at the Berto Center, but the sound quality was poor and the interview didn't last long.

As a sophomore at Wake Forest last season, Johnson averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and shot 54.2 percent from the field. The Bulls see him as a very talented and tough forward who might bring some scoring punch off the bench right away.

"We had targeted James Johnson during the season," Forman said. "It was the consensus of our staff that James was one of the top 5 to 7 players in this draft. We love his versatility. He can play the three, he can play the four. He can play inside, he can play outside. He can put the ball on the floor, rebound it, push it out in transition."

One thing Johnson doesn't have is an obvious position on the Bulls. They are already crowded at the forward spots between Luol Deng, John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas.

"That's up to (coach) Vinny (Del Negro) to figure out how he fits in," Forman said with a laugh.

The most surprising drop in Thursday's draft was by Pittsburgh power forward DeJuan Blair, who fell out of the first round completely to San Antonio at No. 37.

The Bulls obviously gave Blair a serious look, asking him back for a second workout against Mullens on Tuesday at the Berto Center. But they ended up passing on Blair twice. Mullens was chosen No. 24 by Dallas, then traded to Oklahoma City.

"It's surprising to me, because anyone who saw him in college would know he's a very effective player," Forman said of Blair. "He was on the board both picks."

Johnson and fellow first-round pick Jeff Teague briefly led Wake Forest to the No. 1 ranking this season, although the Demon Deacons slumped to a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.

A few months ago, Johnson discussed his martial arts background with Sports Illustrated.

"I know nobody can beat me up, so there's never reason to be scared (on the basketball court)," he said. "I'm not done fighting. I think about fighting all the time."

Better ask the Bulls before fighting again. Forman saw Johnson fight for points after posting up during an early-season tournament, which could be a possible role in the NBA.

"We both got to spend a lot of time with him," Forman added. "He's a very personable kid. He's got a good way about him."

Taj Gibson

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=303050">Bulls draft capsules<span class="date"> [6/25/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=303055">Gibson's wingspan impresses Forman<span class="date"> [6/25/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>

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