North Carolina forward Puff Johnson not dressed for Pittsburgh game

North Carolina forward Puff Johnson was not dressed on Wednesday night ahead of the team’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Panthers. He was seen in khakis and a polo shirt ahead of the battle for third place in the ACC, per Ross Martin of InsideCarolina.com. Junior walk-on guard Rob Landry also has a boot on his right foot and will not be playing against the Pitt Panthers, as well.

Johnson has been dealing with a sore knee injury, according to his head coach Hubert Davis.

The North Carolina-Pittsburgh game is currently being televised on the ACC Network. The Heels currently lead 17-13 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the first half. North Carolina has won the last four games on their schedule since falling to the Virginia Cavaliers on Jan. 10, 65-58. This Saturday, the ‘Heels will face off against the Duke Blue Devils. That game is set to be played at 6:30 PM EST and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Puff Johnson has improved throughout his UNC career

Johnson has played in 16 games this season with two starts. He averages 14.9 minutes per game as one of the top players off the bench for UNC, posting 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest. From the field, Johnson is shooting 43.8 percent. He is also shooting a career-high from three-point range, hitting on 36.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

Throughout his UNC career, Johnson’s role has continued to grow. He was a four-star recruit in the 2020 class, coming in as the No. 16 small forward across the country, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He played his high school basketball for Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Arizona) where he played under former Arizona Wildcat basketball legend Mike Bibby.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner also contributed to this article.