UNC in the NBA: Brice Johnson faces off against Tyler Hansbrough
Brice Johnson makes D-League debut against Tyler Hansbrough
After a sensational senior season at North Carolina, Brice Johnson was selected 25th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Unfortunately, a nagging lower back injury kept him sidelined for the first 56 games of the season.
Johnson made his first appearance for the Clippers on February 23rd, playing three minutes at the tail end of a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors.
It turned out to be his only appearance for the Clippers.
On Tuesday, the team announced that they were re-assigning Johnson to the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA Development League.
Just a day later, Johnson made his first appearance for the Stars, facing off against a familiar opponent who has also recently undergone a change in geography.
The opponent? UNC alum and ACC all-time leading scorer Tyler Hansbrough.
It's a @UNC_Basketball Bowl as @THans50 & @TheMadAnts visit @BJohnson_23 @MarcusPaige5 & @SLCStars on Facebook Live! https://t.co/lvuDWNwGli pic.twitter.com/3xCN5PHxdM
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) March 9, 2017
Hansbrough was acquired by the D-League’s Fort Wayne Ants last week after failing to land on an NBA roster for the 2016-17 season.
The 31-year-old NBA veteran last played for the Charlotte Hornets a season ago when he averaged 2.4 points and two rebounds in less than eight minutes per game.
Hansbrough, the 2008 National Player of the Year, has also spent time with the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors during his seven-year career.
For now though, he’s back in the Pacers’ organization with their D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne.
On Wednesday night, the two UNC greats faced off, along with former Tar Heels point guard Marcus Paige, who also plays for the Stars.
Johnson played 12 minutes in his D-League debut, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Stars. He also showed off his improved shot from long-range.
Highlights: @bjohnson_23 (11 points) vs. the Mad Ants, 3/8/2017📹 pic.twitter.com/r3moVU4jGk
— Salt Lake City Stars (@slcstars) March 9, 2017
Paige had a rough night, going 0-for-8 from the floor including 0-for-4 from three-point range.
Hansbrough played a game-high 39 minutes, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds for the Mad Ants, who won the game by a final score of 116-105.
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Here’s to hoping that the next time these three get together it’s on an NBA court on Friday night prime time.