Lucas: Johnson Ready To Continue Family Tradition

By Adam Lucas

One of Carolina's expected best perimeter shooters in the freshman class wasn't even allowed to attempt a three-pointer until he was in middle school.

Puff Johnson comes from a family of shooters. You're well acquainted with brother Cameron, of course, who drilled 45.7 percent of his three-pointers in his final season at Carolina and who became the fastest Phoenix Suns player ever to reach the 100 three-pointer mark.

Puff desperately wanted to be like his big brother, tossing the ball at the family's attic basketball hoop with an over-the-head motion that Cameron quickly discouraged. Once Puff progressed to a regulation size hoop, the boys' father, Gilbert, created some rules.

"My dad was big when we were young on starting off with form shooting and not shooting three-pointers until we got stronger," Puff says. "When I was younger I was really weak and was just throwing the ball at the hoop. He didn't like that, so we stayed with form shooting and he consistently let me shoot threes in sixth grade."

It paid off. The younger Johnson's smooth lefthanded stroke earned his first scholarship offer, from Duquesne, at the end of his sophomore year. But from the moment Cam arrived in Chapel Hill, Puff had big dreams.

"The first time I came to Carolina was one of his first practices," Puff says. "I was like, 'Wow, this is really North Carolina.' I was probably in ninth grade. Of course, I was like, 'How crazy would it be if I came here?'"

Crazy became reality in the fall of his senior year, when Johnson accepted a Roy Williams scholarship offer. He's the rare Tar Heel freshman who won't be surprised by virtually anything that happens during his first year on campus; he has an easy go-to resource in his older brother.

The duo have talked frequently about what to expect as a Tar Heel and the challenges of playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (Cam's most frequent advice: "rebound and run the court"). But in addition to his brother, Puff also has the luxury of preexisting relationships with the current Tar Heel veterans. Older players like Garrison Brooks who once knew him as "Cam's brother" now will be passing him the ball on the Smith Center court.

"I've learned a lot from 'G,'" Puff says. "I've always had a good brother-type relationship with him. He's a great guy to lean on for advice."

Already in his short time on campus, Puff has proven to be more than just a stand-still jump shooter. He's flashed an ability to score from inside the three-point arc as well as from distance, and he's shown a willingness to go to the glass and get rebounds on both the offensive and defensive end.

Not surprisingly, some of that intensity was honed in the Johnson family driveway in Moon Township, Pa. With four boys and two athletic parents, the games could get a little heated.

"Cameron claims that one time I tackled my mom," Puff says. "It's not true, but he always says that. We haven't played one of those games in about two years, but when we did play, those games were crazy."

As was the competitiveness between the two future Tar Heels. Both individuals are unfailingly polite, the type of people who remember names and are as comfortable in conversation as they are outside the three-point line. Put them on the court, though, and the attitude changes. Remember, Cameron used to describe how his mother—Amy scored over 1,000 points for Kent State as a college player—would text him at halftime of his college games to remind him to go to the offensive boards.

Don't be fooled by the polite attitude. It's in the blood.

"Every single time we play (against each other) it's competitive," Puff says. "A lot of times it ends with him throwing the ball at me and saying, 'Get in the car.' Or there's some kind of fighting between us and my dad has to break it up."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

Puff Johnson

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