UNC Basketball: Cameron Johnson starts, scores a dozen in Suns win

Former UNC basketball standout Cameron Johnson gets the start for Phoenix, scores a dozen in Suns victory

Former University of North Carolina standout and current Phoenix Suns small forward Cameron Johnson got his second career start in the team’s first game in the Orlando bubble on Friday night.

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound rookie sharpshooter played 25 minutes, marking his third consecutive game playing at least 25 minutes, and fourth in the last five. He tied a career-high with 33 minutes in his last game out, a March 3 matchup with the Toronto Raptors prior to the league’s shutdown. He also scored a career-best 21 points in that game, knocking down a personal-best seven field goals.

While Friday night’s performance wasn’t quite as dynamic, it was pretty solid after not playing an official game for nearly five months. He scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc and 1-for-1 from the free throw line. He added three rebounds, two assists and one steal to just one turnover. He did struggle with fouls, however, as he committed a team-high five on the game.

It was a good showing for Johnson, who’s hoping that appearances in the starting lineup are something he continues to see more of. Given his age and experience, and his level of productivity while on the court, he could be in store for more starts in the bubble.

For the season, Johnson is averaging 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He’s shooting 41.8 percent from the floor, and 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. He’s also hitting better than 76 percent of his free throw attempts, and has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

Johnson and the Suns will be back in action on August 2 against the Dallas Mavericks. Stick with Keeping It Heel for updates on Johnson, and UNC basketball across the league, throughout the remainder of the season.