University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: A Healthy Hip
October 3, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Graduate student Cam Johnson is feeling more healthy than at any time during his college career.
By Adam Lucas
It's not exactly correct to say that Cameron Johnson enjoyed Carolina's six preseason conditioning sessions. The grueling workouts are designed to push the Tar Heels to their physical limits, and if a player isn't exhausted by their conclusion, then Jonas Sahratian hasn't done his job—and the Tar Heels will tell you that Sahratian always does his job.
So Johnson didn't enjoy them, necessarily. But he will admit to you that even the toughest conditioning day left him, well, encouraged.
Johnson underwent arthroscopic hip surgery on April 16. The procedure was designed to correct issues the Pittsburgh native had been having since high school. The pain he regularly felt resulted in an elaborate pregame stretching routine that sometimes began as early as four hours before a typical game. The aftereffects would linger into the day after a game, when he'd feel stiffness much greater than just the typical grind of a college athlete.
As he worked his way back over the summer from the hip surgery, Johnson tried to be cautious. He did not play when Carolina took the preseason trip to the Bahamas, and his inclusion in summer pickup games was very limited.
But he was a full participant in conditioning. And, as he's relieved to say now, the only residual effect he felt from those workouts was normal fatigue.
"There have been so many of those moments lately when I realize I'm not feeling the pain I felt before," he says. "On those conditioning days, I feel like my stride has opened up. So I'm only fighting the typical fatigue you feel during conditioning, I'm not fighting hip pain. It's really nice to only fight one battle. And the next day I don't feel terrible. I've played multiple games of pickup and done conditioning and the next day I wake up and feel good, like I can do it again. That's such a huge burden off my shoulders."
It's already had an impact on his daily life, and now Johnson wants to find out how it will change his production on a basketball court. He was a full participant when the Tar Heels convened the first practice of the 2018-19 season last week.
Johnson was a more complete offensive player last season than he had been at Pitt, where he was primarily a three-point shooter. In his one season as a Tar Heel, he attempted 47.9 percent of his shots from two-point range, up from just 33.8 percent in his last season as a Panther. And with Roy Williams constantly reminding him of the importance of getting on the glass, Johnson's rebounding numbers per 100 possessions went from 8.1 in his final season at Pitt to 8.9 last year. That leap was spurred largely by Williams' increased emphasis on offensive rebounding, as Johnson's offensive rebounding percentage went from a meager 2.5 percent in 2017 to a career-high 6.3 percent last year.
But it's on the other end of the court where Johnson thinks he might see the most substantial dividends from his surgery.
"I've been experimenting with some things in pickup to see what I can do physically now," Johnson says. "I can try some different patterns of movement both offensively and defensively. There were some basic footwork issues that were a challenge before. Spreading my feet apart and sinking into a defensive stance—I just couldn't do that before. I had little cheats in my head I would use because I knew my limitations on how I could defend someone. Now I want to see how I can move on offense and on defense with and without the ball and see how it all comes together. At this point right now, this is the best I've ever felt in college and it might be the best I've ever felt in my life."
It's not exactly correct to say that Cameron Johnson enjoyed Carolina's six preseason conditioning sessions. The grueling workouts are designed to push the Tar Heels to their physical limits, and if a player isn't exhausted by their conclusion, then Jonas Sahratian hasn't done his job—and the Tar Heels will tell you that Sahratian always does his job.
So Johnson didn't enjoy them, necessarily. But he will admit to you that even the toughest conditioning day left him, well, encouraged.
Johnson underwent arthroscopic hip surgery on April 16. The procedure was designed to correct issues the Pittsburgh native had been having since high school. The pain he regularly felt resulted in an elaborate pregame stretching routine that sometimes began as early as four hours before a typical game. The aftereffects would linger into the day after a game, when he'd feel stiffness much greater than just the typical grind of a college athlete.
As he worked his way back over the summer from the hip surgery, Johnson tried to be cautious. He did not play when Carolina took the preseason trip to the Bahamas, and his inclusion in summer pickup games was very limited.
But he was a full participant in conditioning. And, as he's relieved to say now, the only residual effect he felt from those workouts was normal fatigue.
"There have been so many of those moments lately when I realize I'm not feeling the pain I felt before," he says. "On those conditioning days, I feel like my stride has opened up. So I'm only fighting the typical fatigue you feel during conditioning, I'm not fighting hip pain. It's really nice to only fight one battle. And the next day I don't feel terrible. I've played multiple games of pickup and done conditioning and the next day I wake up and feel good, like I can do it again. That's such a huge burden off my shoulders."
It's already had an impact on his daily life, and now Johnson wants to find out how it will change his production on a basketball court. He was a full participant when the Tar Heels convened the first practice of the 2018-19 season last week.
Johnson was a more complete offensive player last season than he had been at Pitt, where he was primarily a three-point shooter. In his one season as a Tar Heel, he attempted 47.9 percent of his shots from two-point range, up from just 33.8 percent in his last season as a Panther. And with Roy Williams constantly reminding him of the importance of getting on the glass, Johnson's rebounding numbers per 100 possessions went from 8.1 in his final season at Pitt to 8.9 last year. That leap was spurred largely by Williams' increased emphasis on offensive rebounding, as Johnson's offensive rebounding percentage went from a meager 2.5 percent in 2017 to a career-high 6.3 percent last year.
But it's on the other end of the court where Johnson thinks he might see the most substantial dividends from his surgery.
"I've been experimenting with some things in pickup to see what I can do physically now," Johnson says. "I can try some different patterns of movement both offensively and defensively. There were some basic footwork issues that were a challenge before. Spreading my feet apart and sinking into a defensive stance—I just couldn't do that before. I had little cheats in my head I would use because I knew my limitations on how I could defend someone. Now I want to see how I can move on offense and on defense with and without the ball and see how it all comes together. At this point right now, this is the best I've ever felt in college and it might be the best I've ever felt in my life."
Players Mentioned
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