University of North Carolina Athletics
Cameron Johnson returns to play Pitt on Saturday afternoon.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Pitt Press Conference Notebook
January 4, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Six hundred seventy-nine days after playing his last game at Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center, coincidentally against North Carolina, Cameron Johnson makes his return Saturday, when the Tar Heels open ACC play against the Panthers.
Johnson, who graduated from Pittsburgh in three years and enrolled in the sports administration master's program at UNC in 2017, played in 38 games at the Petersen Events Center as a Panther. Saturday's contest will be his first as a member of the visiting team.
"I've given it a little thought," said Johnson of his return during Friday's pre-Pittsburgh press conference. "I'm really excited for the opportunity. It's my last game there now. Obviously, when I left there the first time, I didn't realize it would be my last game."
Johnson, from Moon Township, Pa., about 20 miles from Pittsburgh's campus, will have several family members and friends at the game. But Roy Williams said he isn't concerned about Johnson's focus.
"He's a very bright youngster, and my guess is he'll channel it all to hopefully motivate him a little bit more," Williams said. "I'd really be surprised if he goes out there really nervous or anything; that's just not his nature. I haven't seen him nervous very many times."
Here are three other notes from Friday's press conference, leading up to Saturday's noon game:
Looking for improvements
When asked after Wednesday's game against Harvard if his team is close to where he wants it to be entering ACC play, Williams said it's "nowhere near, not in the same frickin' universe." He echoed that sentiment again Friday, referencing how Carolina needs to improve its defense and rebounding. He also said the players are still turning the ball over too much.
But despite all that, he remains optimistic about what this team can achieve.
"I do think we've got a chance to have a much better team than we have right now," Williams said. "People got all excited about (beating) Gonzaga, but the ball went in the basket. You've got to win some games when it doesn't go in the basket so easily. Our really, really good teams have won some games ugly. We need to be able to win some games ugly with this team."
Maye's free-throw success
Luke Maye entered his senior campaign as a career 59.8 percent (101-for-169) free-throw shooter. But through 13 games this season, he's shooting 78.2 percent (43-for-55) at the charity stripe, almost 16 percentage points higher than he shot last season.
Williams said Maye's improvement at the free-throw line isn't due to happenstance.
"I told him it was silly for him not be one of the leading free-throw shooters in the league," Williams said. "So that's one of the things we had (talked about) in our conference – I don't call them exit interviews like they do in professional sports, but our player meetings in the spring. I said, 'You should. There's no reason.' … And he understood."
Manley remains sidelined
After not playing against Harvard because of a sore left knee, Sterling Manley will also sit out Saturday's game, Williams said. Manley is averaging 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds as a sophomore this season. Wednesday's game was the first he missed in his Tar Heel career.
With Manley out and Garrison Brooks in early foul trouble, UNC used a smaller lineup for a majority of Wednesday's first half and during significant stretches in the second half. Johnson even played a few minutes at the center spot, also known as the five.
"It's pretty much the same as the four, so it didn't really feel any different for me," said Johnson after Wednesday's game. "Being told that I played the five, that's the biggest shock, just the fact that I was at the five because when I came to college I was only a two-guard. So over time, things change.
"Sterling was out (Wednesday) and the bigs got into a little bit of foul trouble, so we had to adjust. It's not too much different than the four, so I was OK."
Six hundred seventy-nine days after playing his last game at Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center, coincidentally against North Carolina, Cameron Johnson makes his return Saturday, when the Tar Heels open ACC play against the Panthers.
Johnson, who graduated from Pittsburgh in three years and enrolled in the sports administration master's program at UNC in 2017, played in 38 games at the Petersen Events Center as a Panther. Saturday's contest will be his first as a member of the visiting team.
"I've given it a little thought," said Johnson of his return during Friday's pre-Pittsburgh press conference. "I'm really excited for the opportunity. It's my last game there now. Obviously, when I left there the first time, I didn't realize it would be my last game."
Johnson, from Moon Township, Pa., about 20 miles from Pittsburgh's campus, will have several family members and friends at the game. But Roy Williams said he isn't concerned about Johnson's focus.
"He's a very bright youngster, and my guess is he'll channel it all to hopefully motivate him a little bit more," Williams said. "I'd really be surprised if he goes out there really nervous or anything; that's just not his nature. I haven't seen him nervous very many times."
Here are three other notes from Friday's press conference, leading up to Saturday's noon game:
Looking for improvements
When asked after Wednesday's game against Harvard if his team is close to where he wants it to be entering ACC play, Williams said it's "nowhere near, not in the same frickin' universe." He echoed that sentiment again Friday, referencing how Carolina needs to improve its defense and rebounding. He also said the players are still turning the ball over too much.
But despite all that, he remains optimistic about what this team can achieve.
"I do think we've got a chance to have a much better team than we have right now," Williams said. "People got all excited about (beating) Gonzaga, but the ball went in the basket. You've got to win some games when it doesn't go in the basket so easily. Our really, really good teams have won some games ugly. We need to be able to win some games ugly with this team."
Maye's free-throw success
Luke Maye entered his senior campaign as a career 59.8 percent (101-for-169) free-throw shooter. But through 13 games this season, he's shooting 78.2 percent (43-for-55) at the charity stripe, almost 16 percentage points higher than he shot last season.
Williams said Maye's improvement at the free-throw line isn't due to happenstance.
"I told him it was silly for him not be one of the leading free-throw shooters in the league," Williams said. "So that's one of the things we had (talked about) in our conference – I don't call them exit interviews like they do in professional sports, but our player meetings in the spring. I said, 'You should. There's no reason.' … And he understood."
Manley remains sidelined
After not playing against Harvard because of a sore left knee, Sterling Manley will also sit out Saturday's game, Williams said. Manley is averaging 4.4 points and 4.3 rebounds as a sophomore this season. Wednesday's game was the first he missed in his Tar Heel career.
With Manley out and Garrison Brooks in early foul trouble, UNC used a smaller lineup for a majority of Wednesday's first half and during significant stretches in the second half. Johnson even played a few minutes at the center spot, also known as the five.
"It's pretty much the same as the four, so it didn't really feel any different for me," said Johnson after Wednesday's game. "Being told that I played the five, that's the biggest shock, just the fact that I was at the five because when I came to college I was only a two-guard. So over time, things change.
"Sterling was out (Wednesday) and the bigs got into a little bit of foul trouble, so we had to adjust. It's not too much different than the four, so I was OK."
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