Johnson: AP All-American
Boilermaker senior big man JaJuan Johnson has been named a first-team preseason All-American by the Associated Press.
The 6-foot-10 center joins Duke's Kyle Singler, BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Kansas State's Jacob Pullen and North Carolina freshman Harris Barnes on the five-man team.
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"I'm definitely going to have use it as motivation," Johnson said in a released statement. "Being a Preseason All-American, guys are going to be gunning for me. It's just going to keep me hungry, focused and working on my game."
As a junior, Johnson averaged 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots and was named second-team All-Big Ten.
He was first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore.
Johnson and teammate E'Twaun Moore were each named to the preseason All-Big Ten team.
"This is a great honor for JaJuan because it shows how far he's come over the course of his career," Coach Matt Painter in a released statement, about the All-America honor. "It's scary to think that he's only really scratched the surface of how good he can actually be.
"It's a tremendous honor to be included on that team, and JaJuan deserves it for all the hard work he's put in and the first-class way in which he conducts himself."