Johnson is unusual in other ways, one being that he is from Wyoming -- home of rodeos and snowmobiles -- the other being that he is a 22-year-old sophomore. If he were to stay in college, like people used to do, he would end up a 24-year-old senior. That is the same age as a fellow named LeBron James, and he just finished his sixth NBA season.

Johnson's seasoned. But mature or not, he clearly is a red flag waving in the face of maddeningly inconsistent, restrictor-plate-engined power forward Tyrus Thomas. The Bulls fourth-year man, only 22, is no longer a raw rookie who can use potential as his best excuse for failure.

A PUSH FOR THOMAS

At times this past season, Thomas seemed disinterested in what was going on acourt, and other times he seemed like an All-Star in training. Which is it? Johnson might make Thomas declare.

Oh, and then there's the Bulls' second pick in the draft, at No. 26, power forward Taj Gibson from USC.

At any rate, in the meat-market measuring system used by the NBA, higher pick Johnson, a kick-boxing, middle child in a family of nine children, has some numbers that stand out.

Barefoot, he stands 6-7. Since few NBA games are played without shoes, he, like other prospects, was measured in sneakers and came in at 6-7*. This is interesting since draftees Blake Griffin and DeMarre Carroll are an inch and a half taller in their sneakers.

What have we got, platform Cons? Look into 'em, James.

More important, the 257-pound Johnson, who was a freshman All-American at Wake, has really long arms. This is something the NBA obsesses about. If you are short but your arms are long as vines, that's an advantage in a sport where the rim is always 10 feet above he floor.

Johnson has a 7-* wingspan (anything more than your standing height is long), and he can flat-footed reach 105? inches in the air. That's just 14? inches below the rim, which means he could grab the net just stretching, for whatever that's worth.

Indeed, all the numbers stuff can be nonsense, annoying white noise. What matters, after a modicum of size and athleticism, is Basketball skill, desire, knowledge, passion and the ability to work hard.

Those qualities are what the Bulls hope they're getting from their second pick, at No. 26, power forward Gibson.

Gibson is 6-9 and skinny at 225 pounds, but he is USC's all-time leader in shots blocked. He's a grinder. Again, spunk-wise, he's what the Bulls wish the wildly-talented Thomas were.

Two more things jump out about this draft.

What happened to fierce, muscular power forward DeJuan Blair of Pittsburgh, the guy who once wore No. 2 draftee Hasheem Thabeet, the 7-4? (in shoes) center from U-Conn, like a raincoat? Blair didn't get drafted in the first round?

Whoa, either he's crazily flawed -- beyond being not so tall -- or else he's coming into the league snorting like an enraged, uh, bull.

The other thing is that the really big hoops news came before the draft began, and no, it was not Michael Jackson's early demise, shocking as that was.

SHAQ ATTACK

It was the Shaquille O'Neal-to-the-Cavaliers deal, a move that pairs the 24-year old LeBron with the 37-year old Big Aristotle. It is a move that might bring an elusive championship to the title-starved city of Cleveland. Of course, O'Neal may implode at any moment from weight and age, or possibly from too much humor.

As he told an interviewer who asked what he would bring to Cleveland, O'Neal said, ''A lot of fun. A lot of smiling. A lot of wins.''

The Bulls are in the same division with the Cavs and play them a lot. The Bulls will have to adapt and build themselves with the James-Shaq tandem in mind.

''I think that I can help out,'' said Johnson when he was interviewed via phone from the Berto Center last night. We assembled reporters didn't mention O'Neal specifically, or the Cavs, nor did we ask why the Bulls didn't draft a guard if, indeed, they can't re-sign Ben Gordon.

But the draft is about hope. And, the Bulls are hoping.