UNC Basketball: Brice Johnson finds new home overseas

Former UNC Basketball standout Brice Johnson will continue his professional career overseas but will have a new home for the upcoming season.

The forward has agreed to a deal with the Toyama Grizzlies per a club release on Monday, with the Ceiling is the Roof digging up the news on the former Tar Heel. After spending 2020 playing for Chorale Roanne in France and Budivelnyk in Ukraine, Johnson now heads overseas to play in Japan for the first time in his career.

Johnson and the team released a statement on the signing:

"“I am extremely excited to play in the city of Toyama, and for the fans of Toyama,” Johnson said in a statement released by the team. “I have heard the fans are very passionate about basketball and I’m excited to play in front of them and win a lot of games. Last season the team made the playoffs. I want to contribute to advancing further and hopefully winning a championship.“Basketball in Japan is on the rise and I’m thankful for the opportunity to begin playing in such a beautiful country and city.”"

Johnson had a successful four-year career at North Carolina in which he was named a First Team All-ACC and All-America in 2016. He ended his career averaging 11.6 points and 7 rebounds, helping lead the Tar Heels to the national championship game in 2017. In that 2017 season, he averaged a career-best 17 points and 10.4 rebounds.

Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers and spent time in the G-League with the Salt Lake City Stars, Agua Caliente Clippers, and Grand Rapids Drive before being traded to Memphis.

In 2018, he played overseas for the first time joining Indios de Mayagüez in Puerto Rico. He’s also spent time playing in Italy, France, Ukraine and now Japan. Last year with Budivelnyk, Johnson led the team with 8.4 points, 1.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. He’s hoping to continue that play and bring it to his new team in Japan.

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