Puff Johnson determined to not be in the shadow of big brother Cam at North Carolina
When Puff Johnson took his official visit to North Carolina, the Hillcrest Prep (Az.) forward was greeted by the current players.
“Sup little Cam,” Johnson recalled them saying when he showed up.
Puff is the younger brother of Cam, who played two years at UNC and is in his rookie year with the Phoenix Suns. The younger brother spent a lot of time in Chapel Hill visiting. So wearing the Carolina Blue felt right for Puff, who signed with the Tar Heels last month.
Because it wasn’t long ago that his brother was there, it’s almost like Roy Williams is getting Cam 2.0 this summer. But Puff, who tied for a team-high 17 points in the Bruins 62-58 win over Combine Academy on Friday at the John Wall Holiday Invitational, already has at least one strategy to make sure he doesn’t fall into Cam’s shadow.
“Biggest thing is I’m not going to take his number,” Johnson said after the win. “I’m definitely not going to do that.”
Even wearing his own digits, it’ll be easy for fans to do a double take when they see Puff in a UNC uniform. At 6-8 he’s almost the same height as Cam, and the two have very similar mannerisms. Cam was very popular with the media, always good for a great soundbite and Puff seems to be on his way.
When asked if he was going to stay and watch future Carolina teammate Day’Ron Sharpe play, Puff said he would, but the team had dinner reservations.
“I would, but I’m hungry,” Johnson said with a smile. “I’ll catch him some time.”
Sharpe and Johnson are part of a five-man class of 2020, a group that’s ranked No. 2 in the ACC and No. 3 in the nation. The hype buzz around this class started as soon as the group was assembled. It’s the first five-man class Williams has brought to Chapel Hill since 2017. That 2017 group will be seniors when Johnson, Sharpe and company arrive, so the freshmen will join an already talented roster.
That’s nothing new to Johnson. His current team, Hillcrest, features five Division I players in the starting lineup and that’s what attracted Johnson to transfer there in the first place.
“That’s the biggest reason I wanted to come to Hillcrest,” Johnson said. “I knew there was a lot of talent and learning how to play with talent is the biggest thing you have to learn. If you’re not scoring you have to do something else on the court and that’s what I’m trying to learn.”
In the first half against Combine Academy, Johnson only had three points on 1 of 4 shooting, but he had four rebounds. He dropped 14 in the second half, but was patient, not rushing to get into the scoring column, knowing his shots were coming.
“I was feeling good the whole game, and my teammates were playing really well,” Johnson said. “It was just clicking the second half. I don’t like rushing shots, I just let the game come to me. Whatever happens, happens.”
When he isn’t scoring, Johnson prides himself on defense and wants to be known as a two-way player. That might serve him very well when he gets to UNC. He’ll be coming in with a group that has plenty of scorers, himself included. He knows when he gets on the floor he won’t be pressured to do all the scoring. Hillcrest has prepared him for that much. Big brother Cam will help with the rest.
“Cam’s going to come down to North Carolina in the offseason,” Johnson said. “He knows what Coach Williams expects so he’s going to train me and do what Coach Williams wants. After the Suns finish he’s going to get me prepared for it.”
Thursday was the first time the younger Johnson played in front of a North Carolina crowd. He knew how passionate fans in the Tar Heel state were about their hoops, but now he knows first hand.
“I knew it would be crazy,” Johnson said. “But I didn’t know it would be this crazy. It’s a great atmosphere.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Puff Johnson determined to not be in the shadow of big brother Cam at North Carolina."
