--F James Johnson is a fighter by nature. There are nine kids in his family, and all but 10-year-old sister Kiandra are black belts. His father, Willie, is a seven-time world kickboxing champion and runs a martial arts facility in the family's hometown of Cheyenne, Wyo.
Johnson boasts a record of 20-0 in kickboxing competitions and also won a mixed martial arts match in high school. "We always learned 'Don't be afraid of anything, and if you're going to attack something, attack it first and hard.' That's what (his father) always taught us, so I try to use that," Johnson said in a recent interview. --Free agency begins on July 1 and guard Ben Gordon, the Bulls' leading scorer for the last four seasons, will finally get a chance to test his market value with no restrictions. The Bulls and Gordon weren't able to agree on a contract extension last summer. The Bulls' offer was believed to be in the neighborhood of $54 million over six years. After turning it down, Gordon tried to accept the deal after training camp began, but the Bulls maintained it had already been pulled off the table. Despite that history, both sides have claimed they'd like to reach an agreement to keep Gordon with the Bulls. "I think it's evident what I bring to the table," Gordon said. "If that's not enough, the Bulls can make a decision to go in another direction."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We had targeted James Johnson during the season. It was the consensus of our staff that James was one of the top five to seven players in this draft." -- General manager Gar Forman on the Bulls' first-round draft pick.
