GoHeels Exclusive: Johnson Makes The Grade

by Pat James, GoHeels.com

CHAPEL HILL—In the aftermath of Saturday's 69-68 win at Notre Dame, Cameron Johnson fully acknowledged his mistakes.

He knew he didn't rebound enough, cut enough or set his teammates up enough. He struggled defensively and once again with his shot. But above all those lapses, Johnson said Roy Williams scolded him for lacking a sense of urgency.

Thus, when Williams announced player grades for the game on the bus after the team had returned to the Smith Center from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Johnson received an "F."

"I did not play up to my personal standard or up to Coach's standard (against Notre Dame)," said Johnson after North Carolina's 87-79 win over Clemson on Tuesday. "I'll take full responsibility for that. It just kind of made me really look forward to this game, like, 'I need to get back on track. That's not how I play.'"

And he proved that against the Tigers.

For the first time in his UNC career, Johnson, a graduate transfer from Pittsburgh, led the team in scoring with 21 points. The performance marked his sixth career 20-point game and his highest scoring output since finishing with 22 against Syracuse on Feb. 11, 2017.

Much of Johnson's success Tuesday came from behind the arc. After going 3-for-16 on 3-pointers over the previous four games, he went 6-for-9 against Clemson. Those six makes matched the career high he set in that same Syracuse game and against the Tar Heels on Jan. 31, 2017 at the Smith Center.

The latter has often been referenced since Johnson arrived at UNC. But after a sprained neck and a torn meniscus in his left knee sidelined him for the first 11 games of the season, he labored to regain his shooting touch upon his return.

"In the moment, the past couple of games, it's frustrating to miss shots," said Johnson, who made 9-of-29 3-pointers in his first seven games as a Tar Heel. "I can't get around that fact. But I try not to worry about it just because everybody misses shots sometimes. You don't always shoot 100 percent."

Yet Johnson's frustrations mounted after the Notre Dame game.

For the second time in eight days and third game this season, he shot 1-for-5 from behind the arc against the Fighting Irish. So upon arriving at the Smith Center at about 1 a.m. Sunday, he spent a few hours working on his shot.

At one point over the weekend, Johnson also called his father, Gilbert – who played basketball at Pittsburgh from 1988-90 – for advice. He instructed Johnson to focus on his footwork.

That remained an emphasis at 8 a.m. Tuesday, when Johnson said he met and shot with assistant coach Hubert Davis. Johnson came away from that session more comfortable with his shot. But about 3 1/2 minutes into the game, he missed his first 3-point attempt and was reminded of his father's words.

"It didn't come off very clean," Johnson said. "I don't think my feet were ready, and that was a big emphasis over the past couple of days. In the past couple of games, I hadn't been getting my feet under me quite well enough when I was shooting. So then I just kind of thought about it."

He rose for another 3-point attempt less than two minutes later. This time, he connected. He made another late in the first half before draining three straight in the first two minutes, 50 seconds of the second.

But Johnson's most important 3-pointer was his last one.

After Clemson cut UNC's lead to 66-64 with six minutes, 17 seconds left, Johnson nailed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. The Tigers never pulled within two points again.

"It was huge to have him come out and shoot it," Luke Maye said. "We know what he does every day in practice. He shoots it great, and we just have total confidence in him to make plays. It was big for us tonight."

Behind Johnson, the Tar Heels improved to 59-0 all-time at home against Clemson. And his effort gave Williams a different reason to criticize him.

"I'm probably going to get on him now," Williams said, "because if he's going to make six 3s, I think I'll get on him after every game."

Players Mentioned

Cameron Johnson

Luke Maye

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