UNC Basketball: Cameron Johnson 2018-19 season in review

Cam Johnson wrapped up his two-year career with the North Carolina Tar Heels after transferring from Pitt. We break down his final season in Chapel Hill.

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It wasn’t easy for Cameron Johnson to find his way to Chapel Hill and the University of North North Carolina. In fact, it was a difficult process.

Johnson announced his decision to transfer out of Pitt back in 2017 and had his eyes set on joining the Tar Heels. But it wasn’t that simple. Pitt blocked his initial transfer request in a saga that lasted for weeks.

When it was all said and done, Johnson ended up in Chapel Hill and was a two-year starter for the Tar Heels developing into one of the best shooters in the country. Johnson was a valuable asset to the Tar Heels for his two years and will leave as a fan favorite.

While it didn’t end how Johnson had hoped for, there were still several good memories in his time with the program. Let’s take a look at his final year in Chapel Hill for our 2018-19 season in review:

The Good

Johnson was always considered a really good shooter in his college career that began at Pitt and UNC saw that first hand in a game in the Dean Dome during the 2016-17 season. The forward dropped 24 points on the Tar Heels in what was an 80-78 loss for Pitt. But he left many impressed, including UNC players.

A year later, the Tar Heels were able to see how good of a shooter he really is as a part of their roster. Johnson shot 42.7 percent from the field during the 2017-18 season, averaging 12. 4 points per game.

But it was his final season at North Carolina where Johnson began getting national attention.

Johnson shot 50.6 percent from the field in 2018-19 while averaging 16.9 points per game, both career highs for the forward. He was no doubt UNC’s best and most consistent shooter throughout the season and turned into the go-to guy for the Tar Heels.

When Johnson got hot, it sure was something. There were times where it looked like Johnson just couldn’t miss, especially from the perimeter. He shot 45.7 percent from the three-point line, draining 96 of his 210 attempts. He was UNC’s best perimeter shooter and often times carried the team.

With a jump shot as pure as Johnson’s, he put on a show for the UNC faithful and was certainly a treat to watch throughout the year.

The Bad

When Johnson did struggle, he really did struggle. Although it was only a few times, Johnson did seem to get into some ruts shooting the ball. When he couldn’t find his stroke, he just flat out looked off. One of the recent examples came in UNC’s Sweet 16 loss to Auburn.

Johnson was battling the flu and just looked off in what would be UNC’s biggest game of the season. He did score 15 points but it came on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. Again, he was battling the flu and didn’t look himself.

The other area where Johnson wasn’t great was on the defensive end of the floor.

There were times he would struggle guarding a quicker perimeter player and got beat going to the basket. Johnson has great length and the ability to pressure opposing players but he will need to be just a tad bit quicker.

Best Game

Johnson had three really big standout games and they came against two really good opponents. His first big performance came earlier in the season in a non-conference battle against Gonzaga in the Dean Dome. He finished with 25 points, shooting 66.7 percent from the field in the 103-90 win over then No. 4 Gonzaga.

The forward made 6 of his 8 three-point attempts, while playing 31 minutes for the Tar Heels.

Just two months later, Johnson put together his best two-game stretch of the season. First, he scored 27 points in a 95-57 win at Wake Forest in February, shooting 77 percent from the field as he was lights out. He followed that up with a 26-point performance on the road at Duke just days later.

It was no doubt his best stretch of the season as Johnson was shooting the ball very well.

What the future holds..

Johnson will enter the 2019 NBA Draft as one of the best shooting prospects but how high is his ceiling? Going into the season the general consensus was that Johnson would be a second round pick. As the season went on, Johnson improved his draft stock and is now just outside of the lottery in latest projections.

Here is his current outlook via NBA Draft.Net:

"Johnson is considered anywhere between mid-second round to potentially jumping into the late first round, depending on physicals, of the 2019 NBA Draft by NBA scouts … If Johnson is able to continue progressing on the defensive end of the floor, he’ll be the quintessential three-and-D NBA player … As long as he can continue shooting 50% from the floor and 46% from beyond the arc there will likely be a spot for him on an NBA roster …"

Johnson appears to be a prospect that can help out at the next level, being a good shooter and one who has some range. There are certainly things to work on in his game but the potential is there.

It will be interesting to see how he fits in depending on the team that drafts him come June.