Little Rock transfer Johnson bringing free throw shots, rebounding

After locking in Kamani Johnson's signature last week, it was finally okay for head coach Eric Musselman to discuss his newly minted addition on Friday.

“I think the first thing is he’s a high-volume free throw attempt player, which is obviously something, if you look at the five years that we’ve had a system in place, getting to the foul line is really, really important. He’s one of the best in the country at that.”

Last season, Johnson averaged over six free throw attempts per game (6.4) and shot 72.7% from the line. That’s not quite the same level as Mason Jones’ 9.1 free throw attempts per game last season, but it is still a significant amount of free throws that Johnson makes at an efficient clip.

Coach Musselman also addressed Johnson’s rebounding and coachability as major pluses, and the benefit of coming from a program led by former Razorback Darrell Walker.

Last season, Johnson averaged 6.7 rebounds per game. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but almost half (3.0) of those were offensive rebounds. Out of all players in the country, that ranked 57th best. For reference, no one on last year’s Razorback team averaged more than 1.3 offensive rebounds per game.

“Maybe the most important thing is, because I have such great respect for Coach Walker, is knowing that he comes from an environment that he’s been coached," Musselman said. "Coach Walker’s teams play really, really hard and they’re aggressive and tough-minded. So I think that added to the excitement level as well, knowing that he played for Coach Walker.”

Adding an experienced, all-Sun Belt conference player to the roster certainly provides another reason to be excited but we won't see Johnson on the court until next season. It won't be long until he’s on campus to help contribute though.

Johnson will arrive in Fayetteville at the turn of the semester.

The early signing period for Musselman's 2021 class begins on November 11. Rivals150 shooting guard/small forward Chance Moore will be signing at 10 a.m. CST and it'll be live streamed. Six-foot-9 JUCO commit Akol Mawein hasn't shared specific details of his signing but told Rivals he'll be putting pen to paper in the early period before it ends on November 18.

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