By R.L. Bynum
After battling injuries during most of his three seasons at Carolina, Puff Johnson announced Wednesday that he is entering the transfer portal
He is the fourth UNC player to enter the portal, joining Justin McKoy, Tyler Nickel and Dontrez Styles. Those players only got 11% of the minutes last season, combining to make only 28% of their 3-point attempts.
“I am grateful to be a Tar Heel,” he said in an Instagram post. “My time in Chapel Hill has taught me lessons that extend far beyond the basketball court. I have given 100% to the university on and off of the court. A heartfelt thanks to Coach [Roy] Williams for recruiting me and giving me the opportunity to play at Carolina. I also want to thank Coach [Hubert] Davis and the entire UNC staff for giving me the opportunity to play under their leadership for the last two years. To my teammates, thank you for always being by my side and for being my brothers.
“Most importantly, thank you Carolina Nation for embracing and supporting me throughout my time here,” he said. “I will always love you, but the time has come for me to enter the transfer portal and take that next step as a basketball player. Thank you all for respecting my decision. I will always be a Tar Heel!”
Johnson figured to be penciled in to start at the 4 spot in the last offseason before Pete Nance decided to transfer to UNC from Northwestern.
His brother Cam had two productive seasons at Carolina after transferring from Pittsburgh but Puff, a four-star recruit out of high school, could never get into a consistent groove in Chapel Hill.
Puff Johnson, who scored 200 points in 65 games, scored in double figures six times, led by his 16 points and two 3-pointers in the Tar Heels’ 84–74 victory at N.C. State on Feb. 26, 2022.
In the 2022 NCAA tournament, he scored 11 points in the first-round 95–63 victory over Marquette and the 72–69 championship-game loss to Kansas.
UNC roster
(Next season’s classes listed)
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman | Caleb Wilson (5 star) | 4 | 6–9 | 205 | |
| Freshman | Isaiah Denis (4 star) | CG | 6–5 | 175 | |
| Freshman | Derek Dixon (4 star) | CG | 6-3 | 190 | |
| Freshman | Luca Bogavac | W | 6-5 | 201 | |
| Sophomore | Jonathan Powell | G | 6-6 | 191 | |
| 2 | Sophomore | James Brown | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
| 1 | Sophomore | Zayden High | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| Junior | Luca Bogavac | W | 6-5 | 201 | |
| Junior | Jaydon Young | 2 | 6–4 | 205 | |
| RS junior | Henri Veesaar | 5 | 7–0 | 235 | |
| Junior | Kyan Evans | 1 | 6–2 | 175 | |
| Junior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–11 | 215 | |
| 7 | Senior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 195 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 15 | Sophomore | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 14 | Junior | Russell Hawkins | 2 | 6–1 | 175 |
| 6 | RS Senior | Elijah Davis | 2 | 6–4 | 197 |
UNC players entering portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Cadeau | Junior | PG | 6–1 | 180 | Michigan |
| Jalen Washington | Senior | C | 6–10 | 235 | Vanderbilt |
| Ian Jackson | Sophomore | G | 6–4 | 190 | St. John’s |
| Cade Tyson | Senior | F | 6–7 | 200 | Minnesota |
| Ven-Allen Lubin | Senior | C | 6–8 | 230 | N.C. State |
UNC schedule
Oct. 24 — Exhibition vs. BYU at Delta Center in Salt Lake City
Nov. 3 — vs. Central Arkansas (finished 9–24, 349th in KenPom; first meeting)
Nov. 7 — vs. Kansas (21–13; 24th; lost to Arkansas in first round of NCAA tournament; series tied at 6)
Nov. 11 — vs. Radford (20–13, 151st; UNC leads series 3–0)
Nov. 17 or 18 — vs. Navy (15–19, 276th; Navy leads 14–6)
Nov. 25 — vs. St. Bonaventure, likely at 6 p.m. (21–11; 97th; lost to Kent State in first round of the NIT; UNC leads 1–0) in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Nov. 27 — vs. Michigan State, likely 4:30 p.m. (30–7; 7th; lost to Auburn in Elite Eight; UNC leads 13–4) in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Likely December (TBA) — vs. Georgetown (18–16; 90th; Georgetown leads 5–4)
Dec. 2 — at Kentucky in ACC/SEC Challenge (24–12, 16th; UNC leads 25–18)
Dec. 13 — USC Upstate (6–26, 340th; first meeting)
Dec. 20 — CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta against Ohio State (17–15; 37th; UNC leads 13–3)
Dec. 22 — vs. East Carolina (19–14; 176th; UNC leads 4–0)
Date TBA — vs. N.C. Central (10–19; 319th; UNC leads 3–0)
One more nonconference game
Likely Feb. 1 or Feb. 8 — vs. Duke (35–4; 1st; UNC leads 145–120)
Likely March 7 — at Duke
ACC games
Home and home vs. Duke and Syracuse
Other home games against Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Other road games against California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
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