COLUMBUS, OH – Two years ago, it was Joel Berry’s ankle. Now, it’s Cam Johnson’s shins.

Berry was hobbled throughout the NCAA Tournament two years ago, going through treatment after treatment to just get onto the court. It worked out pretty well for the then-junior guard and North Carolina, as he was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and the Tar Heels won the national championship.

The storyline on the injury front for the Tar Heels now is Johnson’s malady, which was significant enough UNC Coach Roy Williams sat him for Monday’s and Tuesday’s practices this week.

“It was sore; I think I got kicked,” Johnson said Thursday at Nationwide Arena. “It was just a little rough to move it, a little rough to put my foot up and down. The whole thing (sitting our practice) was to try to get it the best place possible, let the body recover a little bit more and just try to be as close to a hundred percent as can be coming into this first weekend.”

First weekend meaning the NCAA Tournament, which jumped into full swing Thursday. The top-seeded Tar Heels open play in the Midwest Region on Friday against No. 16 Iona.

Johnson said it occurred before the ACC Tournament though he played 72 minutes in a win over Louisville and one-point loss to Duke. Johnson shot 14-for-29 from the floor, including 4-for-10 from 3-point range and averaged 18.5 points in the two games.

“If that tells you anything it tells you I can play with it,” Johnson said.

However, peeling away the layers some, Johnson was much more productive in the first halves of the two games than after both intermissions. Could that have been because of the wear and tear on sore shins?

“It’s just kind of how the game went,” he replied. “And sometimes games go like that (and) you have to keep going.”

If it’s any consolation to UNC fans, Williams isn’t exactly fretting over the health of his leading scorer. He even let Johnson take part in a dunking exhibition during Carolina’s open practice Thursday.

“I'm not concerned -- well, I'm concerned, yeah, but it's not something I've laid awake at night kind of thing…,” Williams said. “And I think it just flared up last week. I don't know if it was one specific incident that made it happen. But we thought it was good.”

Johnson said all is well and he’s ready to go. Berry said the same thing two years ago, though he was clearly in pain. But it worked out fine for him, and Johnson is hoping for the same.