Tag: Cameron Johnson

Former UNC basketball standout sets season-high point total

Former North Carolina Tar Heel Cam Johnson just had the best game of his young NBA season on Tuesday night.

When you think of the most athletic basketball players to don a North Carolina Tar Heels basketball uniform, who comes to mind?

For me, Cameron Johnson is right up there. Johnson transferred to UNC – from Pitt – ahead of the 2017-2018 campaign, North Carolina never won a title in Johnson’s two years, but he made a lasting impact.

Now a crucial member of and starting small forward for the Brooklyn Nets, Johnson is enjoying the best season of his 6-year career.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19 in a 116-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Johnson scored a season-best 34 points. He shot an unconscious 6-of-12 from the perimeter, made 11-of-20 shots overall and all six of his free throw attemps.

Johnson wasn’t just contributing on the score sheet. He showcased his versatility as a well-rounded contributor, adding five rebounds, four assists. two blocks and a steal.

Brooklyn isn’t playing great basketball, sitting 6-9 not even a quarter through the NBA season, but it’s currently seeded ninth in a weak Eastern Conference.

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Johnson is 49th in the entire NBA with 18.1 points per game, which ranks second on the Nets behind Cam Thomas. With Brooklyn thought to be early sellers, Johnson might not be in Brooklyn much longer – though he’s a great, young talented player to build a franchise around.

North Carolina only had Johnson for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons, but like I alluded to earlier, Johnson made an immediate impact from Day One.

He started 56 of his 62 games as a Tar Heel, averaging 15 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Johnson earned First Team All-ACC Honors after 2019 ended, when UNC lost to Auburn in the Sweet 16.

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Report: Lakers are interested in trading for Cameron Johnson

Should the Lakers give up some of their limited trade capital for 3-and-D wing Cameron Johnson?

Over three weeks have passed since the official start of NBA free agency, and the Los Angeles Lakers still haven’t done anything — at all. Not only did rumored free agent targets such as Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan and Gary Trent Jr. reject the Lakers’ advances, but the team lost two key contributors — forward Taurean Prince and guard Spencer Dinwiddie.

The team’s roster now looks a little weaker than the one it won 47 games and lost in the first round of the playoffs with this past season.

A trade is the Lakers’ only option to get better and improve the supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. There are still some intriguing options available on the trade market, including the Brooklyn Nets’ Cameron Johnson.

A number of teams are rumored to be interested in trading for him, including the Purple and Gold.

Via New York Post:

“In what was viewed as a down year — slogging through adductor, ankle, calf, leg and shoulder injuries — Johnson still averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 58 games,” wrote Brian Lewis.

“He shot 39.1 percent from deep, just off his 39.2 career mark.

“His size (6-foot-8), age (28) and shooting ability combine to make Johnson valuable. Only 10 NBA players 6-7 or taller averaged more than his 2.4 made 3-pointers last season.

“While the [Sacramento] Kings, [Orlando] Magic and Lakers are interested, one recent report claimed the [San Antonio] Spurs, [Toronto] Raptors or [Golden State] Warriors could be a ‘dark horse.'”

A 3-and-D wing is one of L.A.’s biggest needs, and Johnson seems to fit the bill. The team lacked defensive ball pressure and the ability to slow down star wings on that end of the floor, and he could greatly help in those areas.

Johnson is under contract for three more seasons at $23.6 million, $21.57 million and $23.6 million. It would be interesting to see how much capital Brooklyn demands in return, especially in terms of draft picks.

Insider: Lakers are in trade talks for five players, including Kyle Kuzma

The Lakers reportedly haven’t given up on improving their roster this offseason.

Other than Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, the two players they drafted last week, the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster still looks similar to the one they had this past season.

Fans are already criticizing general manager Rob Pelinka and accusing him of allegedly being asleep on the job while some other teams across the NBA have improved via free agency and trades in recent days.

However, that doesn’t mean Pelinka hasn’t been trying to make something significant happen behind the scenes. Insider Anthony Irwin wrote that the Lakers are in trade talks with multiple teams about multiple players.

Via Lakers Daily:

“Sources say the Lakers have held trade talks with the Portland Trail Blazers about Jerami Grant, the Brooklyn Nets about Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, the Toronto Raptors about Bruce Brown and the Washington Wizards about Kyle Kuzma — as well as other teams and other trade targets. To this point, though, those are the names most closely linked to the Lakers, according to league and team sources.”

According to Irwin, Grant would cost two first-round draft picks, while Finney-Smith would require L.A. to give up one first-round pick.

Brown, who was a key factor in the Denver Nuggets winning the NBA championship a year ago, is a player the Lakers have had interest in previously. They wanted to sign him last summer, and they had some desire to trade for him a few months ago.

Kuzma is likely a player fans would welcome back in a heartbeat. While he’s a mediocre 3-point shooter and not an easy fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, he averaged 22.2 points and 4.2 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field this past season. All of those numbers were career highs for him.

Rutgers baseball lands Canadian pitcher Cameron Johnson

Rutgers baseball has another commitment in the 2024 class.

Cameron Johnson, a left-handed pitcher, committed to Rutgers baseball on Wednesday as part of the 2024 recruiting class.

Out of TNXL Academy in Ocee, Florida, Johnson consistently throws his fastball in the 88-90 mile per hour range. From Canada, Johnson gives Rutgers baseball another strong arm to develop.

He will join two other Canadians at Rutgers along with catcher Hugh Pinkney and infielder Ty Doucette (who also played a season at TNXL).

The addition of Johnson is another important piece for Rutgers head coach Steve Owens as he looks to get the baseball program consistently into the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson made his commitment public on Thursday afternoon:

 

Rutgers baseball is off to a 3-0 start this season, following their season-opening series at Winthrop. This weekend, they play at Old Dominion, who went 32-23 and lost to James Madison in the Sun Belt Championship.

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In the sweep of Winthrop, the aforementioned Doucette stepped in nicely for Rutgers. The freshman had two hits in seven at-bats, including a double. He also crossed home plate twice for Rutgers. 

Nine former UNC Basketball players on 2023-2024 NBA rosters

The NBA is well-represented by former Tar Heels, with nine suiting up across seven teams. The newest professional Tar Heel is Leaky Black.

NBA fans, sing your praises – the regular season is finally upon us.

Opening night kicked off on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with Lakers-Nuggets and Suns-Warriors giving fans an appetizer. There will be a full slate of games tonight, highlighted by Celtics-Knicks and Mavericks-Spurs, plus more to come throughout the weekend.

Tar Heel fans are highly anticipating the UNC season opener on Monday, Nov. 6 against Radford, but there’s good reason for them to also be excited about the NBA.

Nine former Tar Heels – Leaky Black, Cole Anthony, Day’Ron Sharpe, Harrison Barnes, Danny Green, Nassir Little, Coby White, Cam Johnson and Reggie Bullock – are on NBA rosters.

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A couple of them are starting, a few are valuable role players while one is a rookie.

Let’s take a deeper look at each former Tar Heel and how long they’ve been in the NBA for. Will any of them walk away with another championship?

Top Louisiana baseball recruit Jake Brown officially coming to LSU

One of LSU’s top 2023 signees will not sign after being drafted in the 16th round by the Texas Rangers.

Despite being selected by the Texas Rangers in the 16th round of the 2023 MLB draft, one of LSU’s top recruiting signees will ultimately come to campus in [autotag]Jake Brown[/autotag].

The left-handed pitcher from Sulphur, Louisiana, is the No. 1 recruit in the state, and he ranks as the No. 116 overall high school recruit nationally, according to Perfect Game.

Brown reaching campus was largely expected. After he wasn’t selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft, he tweeted tiger emojis. However, that tweet was deleted when he was ultimately taken by Texas the next day.

Still, it was reported that Brown would likely still enroll at LSU, and though he took a week to mull it over, that’s what he chose to do in the end.

Brown is a big addition to a pitching staff that’s expected to also add [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], a 20th-round pick. Johnson is the No. 11 player in the 2023 class and would be the highest-ranked recruit to ever reach campus for the Tigers.

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Veteran LSU catcher returning for 2024 season

One of the star players of the 2023 baseball season will be returning for another year on the Bayou.

One of the star players of the 2023 baseball season will be returning for another year on the Bayou. Redshirt junior catcher [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] has confirmed that he will be coming back to LSU to play one more season.

It came as a surprise to me when Travinski was not drafted during the 2023 MLB draft. We’re talking about a solid catcher who is coming off his best spring at LSU. Last year, Travinski had a batting average of .356 with five doubles, 10 homers and 30 RBI.

With that kind of production, especially for a team that won the national championship, he seemed like a shoo-in to be drafted this year.

Nevertheless, the man who had his own mustache t-shirt will be coming back to LSU to help lead another group of pitchers. He’ll get to catch for [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] once again and a few new faces as well. One of those is [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], LSU’s highest-rated baseball signee of all time.

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LSU signee Blake Mitchell officially inks under-slot deal with Royals

As expected, Blake Mitchell won’t make it to campus and is trying his hand at professional ball.

In a decision that should come as no surprise to LSU, catcher [autotag]Blake Mitchell[/autotag] will not enroll in Baton Rouge and will join the Kansas City Royals after the team drafted him with the eighth pick in the 2023 MLB draft last weekend.

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Mitchell agreed to a signing bonus of $4.9 million. That’s nearly $1 million below the slot value for the eighth pick, which sits at $5,980,100.

Mitchell ranks as the top high school catcher prospect and is the No. 8 overall prospect in his class. Perfect Game also ranks him as the top player in the talent-rich state of Texas.

Mitchell is the only LSU signee who is expected to sign with a pro club following the draft. The Tigers expect left-handed pitcher [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag] — the No. 11 high school prospect in the country and a 20th-round pick — to make it to campus.

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Top LSU pitching signee Cameron Johnson expected to come to campus, pass on offer from Cardinals

Cameron Johnson would be the highest-ranked LSU signee to ever reach campus.

The St. Louis Cardinals gave LSU baseball fans a scare on Tuesday evening when they took a flyer on left-handed pitcher [autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag] with their 20th-round pick.

The Rangers themselves even viewed that pick as a “Hail Mary,” as the team seems to widely expect that Johnson will forego his contract offer and ultimately choose to enroll at LSU.

That indeed seems to be how things are trending. According to MLB.com Cardinals writer John Denton, Johnson is unlikely to sign before the July 25 deadline.

As the No. 11 overall player and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in the class of 2023, Johnson would become the highest-ranked prospect to ever reach campus for LSU. For reference, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] ranked No. 13 when he withdrew from the draft out of high school.

Getting Johnson to enroll after he fell in the draft would be a massive win for coach Jay Johnson’s team, which will need to replace quite a bit of pitching talent in 2024.

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Top LSU signee Cameron Johnson drafted in 20th round by Cardinals

One of the top prospects in LSU’s 2023 signing class finally heard his name called.

One of LSU’s top prospects in the 2023 class finally heard his name called after a lengthy wait in the MLB draft.

[autotag]Cameron Johnson[/autotag], the No. 2 left-handed pitcher and No. 11 prospect nationally in his recruiting class according to Perfect Game, went to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 20th round with the 605th pick.

Johnson was a guy who many expected to go earlier in the draft, but his falling bodes well for his chances of ending up in Baton Rouge. He’s the second highest-rated prospect in LSU’s class, behind No. 8 pick Blake Mitchell, who is almost certainly going pro after he was picked by the Kansas City Royals.

We’ll have to wait and see if he ultimately chooses to sign with the Cardinals, but coach Jay Johnson has to like his chances of getting the talented lefty from IMG Academy in Florida to campus.

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