Wild Title Game Reminders A Part Of Johnson's Summer Of Growth

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*Note: Video of Puff Johnson interview posted below.

CHAPEL HILL – Two unique things happened to Puff Johnson during the national championship game. One was odd and the other was a bit embarrassing, though to his credit, he has turned it into a source of humor.

First, the strange.

With North Carolina battling Kansas to a 57-57 tie with 7:48 remaining in the national championship game, one of the referees and Johnson passed each other as the Tar Heel sophomore was heading to the bench for the media timeout. It was just 28 seconds after Johnson drained a three-pointer tying the score. But what happened as they passed certainly qualifies as unusual.

“I think one of the funnier moments was, I think it was after the under-eight media timeout, the ref tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Puff, take a quick look around, there’s 80,000 watching you play,’” Johnson recalled, laughing, during an interview session Monday afternoon inside the Smith Center.

He knew that, of course, as did everyone else in the game. But players lose themselves in the heat of competition, and even with the elevated floors and different surroundings, it was really just a basketball game to the players.

Yet, here the ref is trying to freeze Johnson. Not really, but thinking of it that way adds some humor to the moment.

“It froze me for a second, but then I just got locked back into the game,” Johnson said, still smiling. “I think it was pretty cool looking back at it now.

The unfortunate incident has become sort of a running joke within the UNC basketball team, but Johnson hears about it around campus and pretty much wherever he goes.

With Kansas in possession and leading, 63-61, Johnson took an inadvertent blow to his abdomen and immediately went to the floor and vomited. He left the game with 4:23 remaining, as Leaky Black, who had been in foul trouble, returned to the court. Johnson didn’t return, but the moment can’t escape him.

In addition to the notoriety gained by playing in the national title game, and scoring 11 points in 18 minutes, plus that Cameron, his older brother, is doing well in the NBA, have generated plenty of attention for Johnson. But so has what is now a running joke.

“The part where a little bit of my saliva got on the floor,” he said, adding it to the things that stand out about this offseason. “Definitely people have let me know about that. People have told me about that, and I always (get) the question how did I throw up. People really want to know about that.”

Johnson played really well that night, perhaps the best he’s performed as a Tar Heel. That has essentially been lost on most of those whom he’s interacted with.

“People don’t really focus on that, they focus on the part where it was funny to watch basketball for once, per se,” he said, again smiling.

Of course, understanding the locker room culture is to understand Johnson is regularly ribbed about it by his teammates. That’s a dude thing and a jock thing.

“All the time,” he said, laughing. “For example, I remember one time we were working out this summer, and Leaky made a joke, he was like, ‘Puff, clearly, you’re not working hard enough because you’re not throwing up.’ So, my teammates always get on me about that just because of how crazy of a moment it was in the national championship, you start throwing up. So yeah, my teammates are always getting on me about that.”

At least he hasn’t been given a new nickname as a result of him barfing on the court in the middle of the national championship game. And that’s fine by Johnson, whose focus this offseason is being a completely better version of what UNC fans saw during his sophomore campaign.

The 6-foot-8 forward says he’s a guard but can also defend a five in the paint. And he is finally healthy after not having a full offseason yet in Chapel Hill. This allows Johnson to fully focus on moving his game forward from the 249 minutes he played this past season.

He saw action in the last 24 games after missing the first 15 overcoming a pair of injuries that kept him from game action for a year. Johnson averaged 10.4 minutes, 3.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, shooting 45.9 percent from the floor, including 6-for-26 from three-point range.

Johnson carries with him this offseason the experience of having a significant role in the national title game, so much that a ref actually joked with him during the game, and a memorable story that will last in some circles forever.

The Moon Township, PA, native laughs about it now because he can and owns a healthy disposition that clearly points forward.

Here is the complete Q&A with Puff Johnson:

*Note: Video of Puff Johnson interview posted below.

As his game grows, what are some things that are different about him as opposed to Cam’s game?

JOHNSON: “I just try to focus on becoming the type of shooter and type of playmaker he was. My parents always told me at a young age I’m a better rebounder than he was and just more aggressive underneath the basket, and more comfortable using both hands under the basket. That’s one thing my parents really harped on me since I was young. They saw in Cameron he didn’t really want to mix it up underneath. That’s a big thing for me, try to take both sides of the spectrum and really hone in on my skills.”

Dontrez said you’re both playing the three and the four, are you comfortable playing both?

JOHNSON: “For sure, for sure. I’ve always been comfortable playing the three, four, guarding the five. I’ve always been comfortable playing aggressive because the bigger they are, the more aggressive you can play with them. If their small guards, you can’t really play aggressive with them and they fall around. So, yeah I’ve been comfortable guarding fours, fives my whole life sine I’ve been a little kid playing basketball. It’s been a good thing, because growing up I was always the big man, and now I’ve more of a guard. But I feel like I can play both of them now. I think that’s a real big piece of my game, real key.”

Have things changed for you since the championship game and the way you played? Are people recognizing you more Do you feel different, like that was a proving ground?

JOHNSON: “There’s definitely more attention around what I did just because the glaring thing is that I’m Cameron’s brother, so that’s going to always catch the media’s eye like, ‘this is Cameron’s brother playing in the national championship.’ That’s always going to catch the eye because of how well he’s done in his career. And then, of course, the part where a little bit of my saliva got on the floor. Definitely people have let me know about that. People have told me about that, and I always (get) the question how did I throw up. People really want to know about that.”

On his stretch where he was huge offensively in the title game

JOHNSON: “People don’t really focus on that, they focus on the part where it was funny to watch basketball for once, per se.”

How much do his teammates ride him about the throwing up incident?

JOHNSON: “All the time. For example, I remember one time we were working out this summer, and Leaky made a joke, he was like, ‘Puff, clearly you’re not working hard enough because you’re not throwing up.’ So, my teammates always get on me about that just because of how crazy of a moment it was in the national championship, you start throwing up. So yeah, my teammates are always getting on me about that.”

Has a new nickname emerged since the incident?

JOHNSON: “There’s not been another nickname, and hopefully there won’t be another nickname. Probably for the best (laughing). It’s definitely been pretty fun.”

Starting with his 16-point performance in a win at NC State on Feb. 26 through the title game, in which he scored 11 points along with another 11-point game in the NCAA Tournament, how does Johnson process that stretch as far as the kind of player he is and is becoming?

JOHNSON: “It’s a steady growth and steady maturity about the game, and knowing that there’s going to be ups and downs. I lean on my brother a lot just with the ups and downs and being injured and not being able to play and then being to play. Just knowing what to do.

“The big thing was, I was on the phone with my brother, and he told me, ‘You’ve got to be mentally prepared and physically prepared, because when you get back in there when you’re able to play, you’re going to be thrown into the ACC, right into ACC play. You’re going to have no nonconference experience, you didn’t get much your first year, because of injury, either.’

“You’ve got to be mentally prepared and locked in for every single game and every single practice just because my first game was Georgia Tech, right in the middle of ACC play. Just having that experience and now being able to hone in my skills and be a better in the offseason to take myself to the next level.”

Highly skilled, competitive, and motivated athletes get nervous on certain stages, but he got thrust into the title game, playing 18 minutes, which is more than what he’d been averaging. Was there a moment of nervousness he quickly brushed aside, or not at all?

JOHNSON: “You play in the Final Four, the court’s elevated, there’s 80,000 watching you, there’s however millions watching back at home. It never really hit me until a couple of weeks after about how far we came and how far we really went in the NCAA Tournament and we were on the biggest stage. I think one of the funnier moments was, I think it was after the under-eight media timeout the ref tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Puff, take a quick look around, there’s 80,000 watching you play.’

“At the time you’re playing, it’s just like a normal game. The court’s of course elevated, you’re shooting in the space, but at the time it’s just a normal game and it doesn’t really hit you that, wow this many people are watching, this many people are paying attention to the game. Once the ref said that, I looked back and was like, ‘Dang, hold on.’”

Was the ref trying to freeze him up?

JOHNSON: “Yeah (laughing). It froze me for a second, but then I just got locked back into the game. I think it was pretty cool looking back at it now. I have more of an appreciation for what we did as a team. At the time, it was just like another game, playing Duke in the Final Four was another game, playing Kansas in the championship was another game.

“I remember we got the scouting report the day before the Kansas game, we’d done what, probably 40 scouting reports on the season, and I remember it was highlighted at the bottom in a yellow sharpie, it said, ‘One more win and you’re national champions.’ That’s when things really set in. But to me it was like a normal game because you’ve played so many throughout your career.”

What are a couple of personal points of emphasis for Johnson this offseason?

JOHNSON: “I’d say just trying to become the best player I can strength-wise, playmaking-wise, and more consistency, and just try to hone in on my skills. That’s what I’ve been working on with the coaches and have been working on with my brother and working on with my trainers."