Tag: Puff Johnson

Notre Dame thoroughly outplayed by North Carolina

The Irish have slipped to .500.

It’s become increasingly clear that this season is a lost cause for Notre Dame. Perhaps the best evidence of that so far was its trip to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina. Despite initially looking strong out of the gate, the Irish couldn’t keep that going, and their 81-64 loss left them still searching for their first ACC win.

The Irish (8-8, 0-5) appeared ready to give the Tar Heels (11-5, 3-2) a game, taking the lead on [autotag]Marcus Hammond[/autotag]’s tiebreaking 3 near the midway point of the first half. That quickly changed as the Tar Heels cracked down on their defense and won nearly every meaningful rebound battle.

With [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag] out with an ankle injury, the already-small Irish badly missed his height as they lost the battles in blocks (6-1) and rebounds (45-32). That undoubtedly kept the game less close than it otherwise might have been.

The Irish were stretched out even further in the second half when [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] was ejected for a flagrant 2 that he committed while being dunked on by Puff Johnson. Tempers briefly flared, but nothing else of consequence happened. Ryan started heading back to the locker room before the call officially was made, indicating that he knew what was about to happen.

Armando Bacot lived up to his billing as the ACC’s leading scorer and rebounder, leading all players with 21 points and 13 boards. He also was one of three Tar Heels with two blocks. Caleb Love, an equally lethal scorer, had 18 points. RJ Davis scored 13 points and stole the ball three times, though the conference’s leading free-throw shooter was held to 1 of 2 from the charity stripe. Johnson totaled 11 points off the bench.

[autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] led the Irish with 17 points and eight rebounds. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] scored 10 points apiece.

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UNC wing Puff Johnson has been ‘given the full-go’ as he returns to practice

After missing the first week of the regular season, UNC basketball wing Puff Johnson has been ‘given the full-go’ as he returns to practice.

The UNC basketball program received good news on Monday afternoon as one of its key players has returned to practice.

Third-year wing [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag], who missed the first two games of the season, has been ‘given the full go’ and been cleared to return to practice, according to head coach Hubert Davis.

The plan is to get Johnson in full practice all of this week and be ready for the Tar Heels’ matchup with Portland on Nov. 24.

Johnson had been dealing with knee pain that kept him out part of the preseason and lingered into the first week of the regular season.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pound junior averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season. He appeared in 24 games after missing most of his first season with a knee injury.

Johnson made a name for himself on the national scene during the National Championship game. He came off of the bench and had 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.

He will be a welcomed addition to a young bench that has had some inconsistencies through the first two games.

UNC faces off against Gardner-Webb on Tuesday at 8 pm ET.

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Hubert Davis says this UNC basketball player will be a game-time decision Monday

UNC basketball forward Puff Johnson will be a game-time decision for the Tar Heels on Monday night against UNCW per Hubert Davis.

As the UNC basketball program preps for the 2022-23 season opener on Monday against UNCW, head coach Hubert Davis has provided an injury update on a few players.

Davis revealed that guard R.J. Davis is back and forward Justin McKoy is healthy. But UNC could be without a key contributor.

Forward [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] will be a game-time decision for the Tar Heels after sitting out the exhibition game last Friday. Johnson is dealing with some knee pain that needs to get better before he can hit the court. With the game in a few days, the hope is that Johnson can be ready to go.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pound junior averaged 3.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season. He appeared in 24 games after missing most of his first season with a knee injury.

Getting Johnson healthy is key for UNC as he can be a key guy off the bench for them this season. He flashed his ability during UNC’s tournament run a year ago giving fans hope he can be a guy that takes a step forward in his development.

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Hubert Davis provides injury update for UNC basketball program

After taking care of business in their exhibition game against Johnson C. Smith, we get an update on the four players who were listed OUT.

The North Carolina men’s basketball program cranked up the season with an exhibition blowout win over Johnson C. Smith despite being down four significant players.

Those four players are forwards Puff Johnson, Justin Mckoy, Jalen Washington, and starting guard RJ Davis. The excellent news is that UNC will not be without these players for long, with all four of them expected to be back for the season opener in under 10 days.

Head coach Hubert Davis met the media following the Tar Heels exhibition game, and revealed that he does expect all four to be back for the opener:

 

UNC opens the season as the team to beat with their number one overall ranking. They are looking to repeat an appearance at the national championship game with just a different outcome.

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Four UNC basketball players to sit out Friday’s exhibition game

The UNC basketball program announced that four players will miss Friday night’s exhibition game in the Dean Dome.

The UNC basketball program will hit the court for the first time in the 2022-23 season as they host Johnson C. Smith in an exhibition game.

Hubert Davis and the squad enter this season as one of the favorites to win it all come April but they need to start strong this year. And looking good in the exhibition game will be a good start.

When UNC does hit the court, they will be without four players. The program announced that [autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag] (sprained right hand), [autotag]Justin McKoy[/autotag] (Non-Covid illness), [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] (Knee soreness), and [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] (rehabbing injured knee) will NOT play in the game.

We don’t know the extent of these injuries in terms of it being severe or not but the two that obviously stand out are Johnson and Davis right now. Davis is expected to be the starting point guard and this could just be precautionary for him.

As for Johnson, he’s expected to play a big role off the bench on the perimeter for UNC. The knee soreness doesn’t sound great and this could also be precautionary.

Still, these are something to monitor moving forward as the regular season begins in under two weeks.

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Puff Johnson named breakout player for upcoming season

UNC basketball forward Puff Johnson was named a potential breakout player for this upcoming season.

The UNC basketball program returns a lot of talent returning for the 2022-23 season, including four starters and its two key reserves from last year.

One of those players is 6-foot-8 forward [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag]. Johnson, a rising junior, has played sparingly over the last two seasons, but played an important role for North Carolina down the stretch last season.

Because of his performance in the NCAA Tournament, college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein named Johnson as a breakout candidate this season.

“America caught a glimpse of what Johnson was capable of in last season’s national title game, as he tallied 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes against Kansas. The 6-8 forward oozes potential and should allow Hubert Davis to expand his bench. Johnson has the talent to be a key third piece in North Carolina’s frontcourt alongside both Armando Bacot and Northwestern transfer Pete Nance.”

While Johnson will once again come off of the bench, his importance shouldn’t be overlooked. With his versatility on both ends of the floor to play and guard multiple positions, he is a great tool for Hubert Davis.

Johnson averaged just 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last year but came alive in the National Championship game against Kansas.

In 18 minutes. he had 11 points on 5-of-9 from the floor and added six rebounds. In the NCAA Tournament, Johnson averaged 5.0 points on 61.9 percent shooting.

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Potential lineups options for UNC basketball this season

A look at some of the potential lineup options for UNC basketball and Hubert Davis with some added depth this season.

The UNC basketball program heads into 2022 as the No. 1 overall team in the country by numerous national projections. It is fresh off of a National Runner-up appearance and returns four starters – [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag] and [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] – and its two key bench members from last year – [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Dontrez Styles[/autotag].

The Tar Heels also add in a solid recruiting class and bring in Northwestern transfer [autotag]Pete Nance[/autotag] — looking to replace the role of Brady Manek.

Overall, North Carolina should be a deeper team this season and by all accounts Hubert Davis wants them to be. Whether it’s in the backcourt, wing or front court, there seems to be additional pieces that the roster didn’t have a season ago.

Here is a look at some of the potential lineups for UNC this season.

Tar Heels named top team after Nance transfer

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program were named the top team in Sports Illustrated’s early top 25 rankings for the 2022-23 season.

The UNC basketball program added the final piece of their roster last week when forward Pete Nance announced he was transferring to Chapel Hill for his final year of eligibility.

UNC is returning four of their five starters from a year ago on a team that made it to the title game as well as returning players like [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Dontrez Styles[/autotag], [autotag]D’Marco Dunn[/autotag], and [autotag]Justin McKoy[/autotag]. Plus, are adding Nance as well as a 2022 recruiting class that was Top 20 in the cycle.

With that, one publication believes that the Tar Heels will be the team to beat early on going into next season. Sports Illustrated updated their way too early rankings for the season and UNC jumped up seven spots from April’s rankings from No. 8 to No. 1. Here is what they had to say about UNC going into next season:

The late addition of Northwestern transfer Pete Nance pushes the Tar Heels into the No. 1 spot with rosters mostly set. The 6’10” forward is a perfect fit to replace Brady Manek at the power forward spot for Hubert Davis: While not the elite shooter Manek is, Nance is a capable outside threat and is more versatile defensively, a better passer and a more gifted post scorer than Manek was for the 2021–22 Heels. He also gives Davis a chance to rest star center Armando Bacot at times, a necessity after Bacot averaged over 35 minutes per game in the season’s final 13 games. The pairing of Bacot and Nance is the nation’s best frontcourt, and the backcourt duo of RJ Davis and Caleb Love includes a pair of potential All-Americans if each plays up to its potential. Add in a fifth-year senior defensive whiz in Leaky Black, and no team has a better starting group than these Heels.

For UNC fans, this is really nothing new. The Tar Heels have been put atop multiple rankings for next year early on and rightfully so.

Returning four of five starters and now adding an impact transfer like Nance is huge for Hubert Davis and his staff. Now let’s see if they can capitalize on it and make another deep run.

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Dick Vitale has high praise for UNC basketball program

The UNC Basketball program is the top team in the country going into the 2022-23 season according to ESPN’s Dick Vitale.

With the NBA withdrawal deadline officially passed, it’s time to update the early preseason rankings for the 2022-23 season. ESPN’s Dick Vitale published the latest version of his dazzling dozen, spotlighting the top 12 teams as it stands right now.

And sitting right at the top are the North Carolina Tar Heels.

UNC takes the top spot again in Vitale’s updated rankings, holding serve from the previous version. The Tar Heels beat out Kentucky (No. 2), Arkansas (No. 3), Houston (No. 4), and Gonzaga (No. 5) for the top spot.

Here is what Vitale had to say about UNC in his latest rankings ahead of the new season:

It’s great to have an All-American in Armando Bacot returning up front. Having Caleb Love, Leaky Black and R.J. Davis provides continuity and experience. The Tar Heels also bring in 6-9 recruit Jalen Washington and point guard Seth Trimble, providing lots of depth. Hubert Davis has a reason to smile and the Heels may add another transfer. They tried to get Matthew Mayer from Baylor but fell short. Look for bigger things from Puff Johnson.

While Vitale notes the usual suspects he also mentions [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] and to expect big things from him going into the season. The Tar Heels have an open spot in their starting rotation after missing out on Matthew Mayer and if Johnson can fill it and improve, UNC could be even better.

We should also keep an eye on the recruiting class and especially Seth Trimble who is really elevating his game. [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] and Tyler [autotag]Nickel[/autotag] will join him while Will Shaver has already been on campus.

UNC lands in top-5 of 247Sports’ ‘Way-Too-Early’ rankings

The UNC basketball program earned a top-5 ranking in the 247Sports’ Way-Too-Early top-25 for the 2022-23 season.

Despite the college basketball season ending just about a month with Kansas defeating North Carolina in the National Championship, it’s never too early to start looking ahead to the 2022-23 season.

With the return of [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag], [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag], [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], the Tar Heels return four of five starters — and all who were eligible to return. UNC also returns role players [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag], who scored 11 points in the National Title game, and [autotag]Dontrez Styles[/autotag], who had nine big points against Baylor in the Round of 32.

With that, the 247Sports ‘Way-Too-Early Top-25‘ was released on Monday and placed the Tar Heels in the top-5, ranked No. 4.

The Tar Heels finished one final 3-point attempt shy of Kansas in the national championship game. That would seem to bring the definition of unfinished business, and four starters are back in Chapel Hill aiming to complete what they started last year. Armando Bacot looks ready to claim the ACC Player of the Year honor he felt he deserved this past season. Caleb Love and R.J. Davis are a super dynamic backcourt capable of lighting up a scoreboard at any time. And Leaky Black comes back as a tremendous defender and glue guy. Whether North Carolina takes a step forward will depend on how the Tar Heels are able to replace Brady Manek at the other starting spot: Puff Johnson and Dontrez Styles both had positive moments in the tournament. Freshman Seth Trimble adds a potential impact player to the backcourt as well.

The biggest piece of the puzzle is who North Carolina will slide into the ‘Manek’ role at the hybrid forward position. With reserve guard Kerwin Walton entering the transfer portal over the weekend, the Tar Heels now have one available scholarship to add a new piece to their roster.

UNC finished last season 29-10 after starting the season ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll.

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