Donovan Christopher "Puff" Johnson (born October 11, 2000) is an American college basketball player who plays for the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference.[1]
| No. 5 – Penn State Nittany Lions | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward |
| League | Big Ten Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 11, 2000 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College |
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High school career
editJohnson attended Moon Area High School in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, for 3 years, helping lead the school to a state championship as a junior. As a senior, Johnson attended Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was coached by former NBA player Mike Bibby.[2] A 4 star recruit, he committed to North Carolina over Arizona.[3][4]
College career
editNorth Carolina
editJohnson played very little in his freshman season with the Tar Heels and finished the season averaging just 1 point per game.[5] This limited playing time initially continued into his sophomore season while battling through injuries.[6][7] On February 26, 2022, Johnson scored a career high 16 points in an 84–74 victory over rival NC State.[7]
In the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Johnson emerged as a valuable contributor, helping lead the 8 seeded Tar Heels to the Final Four.[8] In the championship game against Kansas, Johnson scored 11 points off the bench before being forced to exit late in the game after collapsing and vomiting; North Carolina lost 69–72.[9][10][11]
In his junior season, Johnson was one of the main rotation players used off the bench for the Tar Heels. Once again hampered by injuries that caused him to miss some time, he appeared in 27 of the team's 33 games.[12] Of his 27 appearances in the 2022–23 season, Johnson made two starts. Usual starter Pete Nance missed two games due to a back injury, so Johnson filled Nance's spot in the lineup while Nance was out. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game on the year.
Following the season, Johnson entered his name into the NCAA's transfer portal database, in search of more playing time elsewhere.[1]
Penn State
editJohnson committed to play his senior season at Penn State.[13]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | North Carolina | 14 | 0 | 4.1 | .429 | .111 | 1.000 | .5 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.1 |
| 2021–22 | North Carolina | 24 | 0 | 10.4 | .459 | .231 | .722 | 2.0 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 3.1 |
| 2022–23 | North Carolina | 27 | 2 | 15.9 | .387 | .283 | .658 | 2.7 | .4 | .6 | 0 | 4.1 |
| Career | 65 | 2 | 11.3 | .417 | .247 | .690 | 1.9 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 3.1 | |
Personal life
editJohnson's older brother Cameron played for the Tar Heels from 2017 to 2019, and currently plays for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets.[10] Johnson's mother is Croatian American.[14] His nickname "Puff" originated from his enjoyment of Cocoa Puffs when he was young.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b Sherman, Ben (March 22, 2023). "UNC's Puff Johnson Enters Transfer Portal". InsideCarolina.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ "Puff Johnson - Men's Basketball". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Spears, Justin. "Hillcrest Prep SF Puff Johnson commits to North Carolina over Arizona". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ "Puff Johnson, North Carolina Tar Heels, Small Forward". 247Sports. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ "Puff Johnson Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ "UNC's Puff Johnson Dealing with Another Injury Setback". InsideCarolina.com. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ a b "Puff Puff, Baby: UNC sophomore Puff Johnson scores career-high off bench, helps lead Tar Heels to big win over NC State". CBS17.com. 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Marks, Brendan. "Can Puff Johnson and Dontrez Styles take the next step — and deepen UNC's rotation?". The Athletic. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Scott, Jelani. "UNC's Puff Johnson Vomits On Court, Sidelined Late in National Title Game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ a b "Puff Johnson, younger brother of Suns' Cam, breaks out in title game". Arizona Sports. 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Michalowski, George (2022-04-04). "Moon's Puff Johnson Shines for UNC in National Title Game vs Kansas". Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ "Puff Johnson Stats". ESPN. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ DiPaola, Jerry (April 26, 2023). "Former Moon star Puff Johnson decides to transfer from North Carolina to Penn State". triblive.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ "Doznajemo: NBA finalist želi igrati za Hrvatsku. Šarićevu suigraču majka je Hrvatica". index.hr. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ Hall, Gregory (January 26, 2022). "Puff Johnson Interview: Return to Action, Value, Nickname, One-on-One with Brother". 247 Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2023.