The following news is no surprise to anyone who's watched the Arizona Wildcats over the past two seasons: Junior guard Nick "Bunnies" Johnson is the team's best leaper.
Max Vertical Jump (running start) Top 3: 1. Nick Johnson 47" 2. Aaron Gordon 43" 3. Gabe York 42.5"
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) September 21, 2013
No Step Vertical Jump Top 3: 1. Nick Johnson 38" 2. Aaron Gordon 34.5" 3. Chris Johnson 34"
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) September 21, 2013
But what is worth noting is that the 47-inch maximum vertical leap and 38-inch no-step vertical that UA says Johnson recorded today is that those numbers would have put him above everybody except Memphis' D.J. Stephens in the 2013 NBA predraft tests (assuming the tests were executed the same).
In fact, Johnson's 47-inch max vertical (in which a running start is allowed) was even greater than the eye-popping 46-inch max vert that Stephens posted this year. Johnson's 38-inch standing vertical leap would have put him second only to Stephens' 40-inch mark.
Also of interest from UA's results is that Aaron Gordon was second on the team in both no-step and max verticals.
Then there were a couple of other non-surprises: That Gabe York, winner of the 2012 Red Blue dunk contest, placed third in the max vertical and Chris Johnson, Nick's older brother who recently joined the Wildcats as a walk-on, did the same in the no-step vertical. Bloodlines matter.
Kyle Fogg made an appearance at UA's workout today.
Kevin Zimmerman checked in with Russ Pennell about the Mercury, UA's 2009 Sweet Sixteen team, and other topics.
Had some detail about Athlon Sports' assessment of the Wildcats, and confirmation from Trey Kell's coach, on a blog post earlier today if you missed that.
