University of North Carolina Athletics
Johnson's Explosion Fuels Heels
December 26, 2015 | Men's Basketball
by Alex Zietlow, CAROLINA Magazine
CHAPEL HILL—Late in the first half of Carolina's next-to-last game before conference play begins, Brice Johnson wound up for what would be his second dunk of the game. Midway through the air, just before the 6-10, 230-pound forward rattled the rim, an Appalachian State defender fouled him from behind, foiling his chance to showcase his roar. The exuberant, emotional big man stood still and put on an irritated face, jokingly conveying his frustration for not being able to do his favorite thing: bring the house down.
In this case, according to Johnson, it worked out just as well. But ultimately, the more fun, the better. “It's alright; I still got two free throws out of it,” Johnson said. “I'm a cheerful guy, and I like to have a lot of fun. When I'm out there screaming and dunking everything, then I'm having fun.”
Johnson is the current team leader in scoring average (16.3 ppg), free throw attempts (44), free throw percentage (84.1 percent), and rebounding average (9.2 rpg) on the season. In the past three games, the forward has recorded three 20-point games, two of which were back-to-back career highs against Tulane (25 points) and then UCLA (27 points). In his most recent outing against the Appalachian State Mountaineers, Johnson tied the all-time UNC record for most consecutive field goals made with 16 with Brad Daugherty back in 1986. Needless to say, Brice is hot.
“I think now he's just showing his number, demanding the ball, doing what Brice does,” sophomore point guard Joel Berry II said. “He's athletic, he's big, so if he can get in there in front of someone and get an offensive rebound, that helps us out a lot. And lately that's what he's been doing.”
Following Monday's game, Johnson has led all scorers on both teams for the third game in a row, recording three of his nine career 20-point games in the last three games.
“[I've been] aggressive, going to my strengths scoring down low – going to my right hand jump hook, going to the basket, getting dunks,” Johnson said. “I've been playing to my strengths and staying away from my weaknesses.”
And Johnson's interior scoring has illuminated strengths of his teammates, including his point guard's passing ability. Against Appalachian State, Berry had his first career double-double with 11 assists and 11 points. The 11 assists are the most by a point guard in a single game since Kendall Marshall's final game as a Tar Heel in 2012. According to Brice, Berry is just playing good basketball, and the inflation in statistical production does not reflect a difference in the level of his play.
“He's playing great basketball,” Johnson said. “[Right now], we're down there scoring it and not turning it over. Just some games we don't convert as well as other games.”
Athletically gifted, talented, fiery, strong – when Johnson's in the game, Carolina's frontcourt lives up to its top-ranked, preseason hype. The senior's passionate play that helps the Heels be successful is fun for the Carolina faithful to watch.
But it also has its moments of unreliability. Against UCLA, Johnson was benched for eight minutes in the first half as punishment for using profanity as he was leaving the floor during Carolina's rough beginning to the game. In this case, the team's performance was reflected in his emotion negatively.
More specifically, when any player's impact on a team goes beyond the player's pure production by the numbers, the effect of his performance is amplified – either in a positive or negative manner. That is, when Johnson is not playing as well or as much as possible, it affects the team accordingly. And the big man's natural influence on the team, coupled with Carolina's tendency to play up or down to the level of their competition, has forced head coach Roy Williams to exert extra effort in making sure his talented leading scorer is focused.
“[Coach] said, 'I know you don't like arguing with me.' I said, 'Coach, I'm used to it now',” Johnson said. “We argue everyday. I don't take it to heart. I know he's trying to teach me, making me the best player I can be.
“Sometimes I'm just not alert and ready to play,” Johnson said. “Other than that, I just got to pay a little more attention to detail, that's all.”
His counterpart on the block, Kennedy Meeks, has missed the past three games with a knee injury. Johnson admits that Meeks' absence may have contributed to the increase in his own scoring, but that his production ideally should not change upon Meeks' return to the lineup.
“I'll still [score] – just hopefully he's doing it too,” Johnson said. “We're a dynamic duo down there; when he's scoring, sometimes I get complacent and be not as aggressive as I should be and then I start standing around.”
Despite his periodic inconsistency, Johnson is an essential part to the Tar Heels. While Marcus provides the level-head and clutch production on the biggest stage, Johnson is right next to him, fueling both himself and his team to set the Heels up for victory. His aggressiveness opens up opportunities on the floor for his teammates, and his dominance leads to more fun for the Tar Heels as a team.
“We don't care who hits the shots,” Johnson said. “We just want to win the game.”
It makes sense. After all – winning is certainly more fun.
