University of North Carolina Athletics
Cameron Johnson made his regular-season debut as a Tar Heel.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Johnson Makes Long-Awaited Debut
December 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
by Pat James, GoHeels.com
CHAPEL HILL—Cameron Johnson rose from the North Carolina bench and walked toward the scorers' table, the eyes of nearly every person inside the Smith Center resting upon him.
Almost six weeks had passed since Johnson last played in the round-robin jamboree of scrimmages on Nov. 5. Five had gone by since he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, an injury he suffered in practice on Nov. 13, just three days after missing the team's opener with a sprained neck.
But about four minutes into Wednesday's 79-75 loss against Wofford, the moment finally arrived. Johnson, a Pittsburgh grad transfer, checked in for his Tar Heel debut in a regular-season game. And a standing ovation ensued.
Yet minutes later, those cheers turned to gasps.
After making a steal near midcourt, Johnson raced toward the basket for a layup with about 11 minutes left in the first half. Terriers guard Derrick Brooks fouled him on the shot, causing Johnson to spin in the air and hit the floor hard.
Johnson tore his meniscus on a similarly awkward fall. And for a brief moment, the crowd grew silent. But he stood up, gathered himself and walked to the UNC bench for the media timeout.
"At this point, it doesn't really surprise me that happened," he said. "I wouldn't say it was fun; it did hurt. But I tried to pop back up really quick and move on. That's part of getting back. And I think as time goes on, I'll just kind of continue to find comfort."
Wednesday's game marked the first step in that, Johnson's return to normalcy. And across 17 minutes of playing time, he finished with 10 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Most of his offensive success came at the free throw line, where he went 7-for-8. He also attempted five 3-pointers. But Johnson, a 44.7 percent 3-point shooter at Pittsburgh last season, made only one of his shots from behind the arc.
Shooting wasn't a concern of his entering the game, though. And he said it still wasn't afterward. Instead, he emphasized rebounding, playing defense and testing his left knee outside of a practice.
"There's a lot of aspects of the game that require a cut that's unexpected or a boxout that's unexpected or contact that's unexpected," Johnson said. "And that's something I've really been trying to work toward because I haven't had many action moments.
"I think that was the big focus of this game was putting myself in an environment where I can kind of navigate my way through it and build confidence in my leg."
Upon entering the game, he didn't show any signs of hesitation. He chased down an offensive rebound on his first possession. Then on defense, he almost came away with a loose ball after neither team could rebound Wofford's missed shot.
"Those are the things that the coaches notice," Joel Berry II said. "They don't care about the ball going in the basket or you doing these spectacular plays. They want the plays that are going to give us extra possessions and that are going to put us in a situation to get a shot. And that's what Cam did."
Still, that wasn't enough against the Terriers.
On a night when Roy Williams chastised his team postgame for a lack of effort, the Tar Heels trailed by 14 points in the second half. Excluding Johnson, they received little help from their bench, as five other reserves combined for as many points (four) as turnovers.
With Wofford also relying on a small-ball lineup down the stretch, Williams was forced to play Johnson more than he planned.
"I was asking too much," Williams said. "I shouldn't have even put Cam back in the game at the end. In my mind, eight to 10 minutes was all I was going to give him. He played 17 minutes, and I only gave him six in the first half. I gave him more minutes than I wanted to. He was winded out there at the end."
But Johnson's conditioning will improve with time. What's more pressing at this point, with ACC play looming, is he and his teammates establishing a stronger rapport on the court, where most of UNC's players already understand each other's tendencies.
That's also coupled with Johnson attempting to grasp the Tar Heels' offense.
"It's something I really feel like I was getting ahold of leading up to when I got injured," Johnson said. "Being out for a handful of weeks is tough on your body and on the mind in the sense that you kind of have to re-work yourself back in the system and kind of pick up on plays that you missed while you were out and all of that.
"Just learning a new offense and then having a setback like that, it's a little bit challenging. But it's just something you have to work through."
CHAPEL HILL—Cameron Johnson rose from the North Carolina bench and walked toward the scorers' table, the eyes of nearly every person inside the Smith Center resting upon him.
Almost six weeks had passed since Johnson last played in the round-robin jamboree of scrimmages on Nov. 5. Five had gone by since he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, an injury he suffered in practice on Nov. 13, just three days after missing the team's opener with a sprained neck.
But about four minutes into Wednesday's 79-75 loss against Wofford, the moment finally arrived. Johnson, a Pittsburgh grad transfer, checked in for his Tar Heel debut in a regular-season game. And a standing ovation ensued.
Yet minutes later, those cheers turned to gasps.
After making a steal near midcourt, Johnson raced toward the basket for a layup with about 11 minutes left in the first half. Terriers guard Derrick Brooks fouled him on the shot, causing Johnson to spin in the air and hit the floor hard.
Johnson tore his meniscus on a similarly awkward fall. And for a brief moment, the crowd grew silent. But he stood up, gathered himself and walked to the UNC bench for the media timeout.
"At this point, it doesn't really surprise me that happened," he said. "I wouldn't say it was fun; it did hurt. But I tried to pop back up really quick and move on. That's part of getting back. And I think as time goes on, I'll just kind of continue to find comfort."
Wednesday's game marked the first step in that, Johnson's return to normalcy. And across 17 minutes of playing time, he finished with 10 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Most of his offensive success came at the free throw line, where he went 7-for-8. He also attempted five 3-pointers. But Johnson, a 44.7 percent 3-point shooter at Pittsburgh last season, made only one of his shots from behind the arc.
Shooting wasn't a concern of his entering the game, though. And he said it still wasn't afterward. Instead, he emphasized rebounding, playing defense and testing his left knee outside of a practice.
"There's a lot of aspects of the game that require a cut that's unexpected or a boxout that's unexpected or contact that's unexpected," Johnson said. "And that's something I've really been trying to work toward because I haven't had many action moments.
"I think that was the big focus of this game was putting myself in an environment where I can kind of navigate my way through it and build confidence in my leg."
Upon entering the game, he didn't show any signs of hesitation. He chased down an offensive rebound on his first possession. Then on defense, he almost came away with a loose ball after neither team could rebound Wofford's missed shot.
"Those are the things that the coaches notice," Joel Berry II said. "They don't care about the ball going in the basket or you doing these spectacular plays. They want the plays that are going to give us extra possessions and that are going to put us in a situation to get a shot. And that's what Cam did."
Still, that wasn't enough against the Terriers.
On a night when Roy Williams chastised his team postgame for a lack of effort, the Tar Heels trailed by 14 points in the second half. Excluding Johnson, they received little help from their bench, as five other reserves combined for as many points (four) as turnovers.
With Wofford also relying on a small-ball lineup down the stretch, Williams was forced to play Johnson more than he planned.
"I was asking too much," Williams said. "I shouldn't have even put Cam back in the game at the end. In my mind, eight to 10 minutes was all I was going to give him. He played 17 minutes, and I only gave him six in the first half. I gave him more minutes than I wanted to. He was winded out there at the end."
But Johnson's conditioning will improve with time. What's more pressing at this point, with ACC play looming, is he and his teammates establishing a stronger rapport on the court, where most of UNC's players already understand each other's tendencies.
That's also coupled with Johnson attempting to grasp the Tar Heels' offense.
"It's something I really feel like I was getting ahold of leading up to when I got injured," Johnson said. "Being out for a handful of weeks is tough on your body and on the mind in the sense that you kind of have to re-work yourself back in the system and kind of pick up on plays that you missed while you were out and all of that.
"Just learning a new offense and then having a setback like that, it's a little bit challenging. But it's just something you have to work through."
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