Report shares lengthy list of interest in North Carolina transfer Puff Johnson

Former North Carolina forward Puff Johnson entered the NCAA transfer portal last Wednesday after three seasons with the Tar Heels. And as he searches for a new program to be a part of in the 2024 season, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein revealed a list of teams that have expressed interest in Johnson.

Johnson has not even been in the transfer portal for a week, but apparently, that hasn’t stopped over 10 programs from recruiting him. Rothstein revealed the list via Twitter on Sunday, saying that Johnson told him personally that he’s received interest from all listed schools.

Johnson’s list per Rothstein can be seen below.

North Carolina transfer Puff Johnson tells me that he's receiving interest from the following programs:

Kentucky
Indiana
Arizona State
TCU
West Virginia
Pitt
Oklahoma
LSU
Butler
Seton Hall
Tulane
Colorado State
Grand Canyon
UC Santa Barbara
Duquesne

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 26, 2023

The list varies in locations, conferences, and levels of play between the programs headlined by the Kentucky Wildcats. Many regard the Big 12 conference as the best or most competitive conference in college basketball, and three of their teams apparently have expressed interested in Johnson between TCU, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.

Johnson enters the transfer portal following a disappointing season for North Carolina where they finished 20-13 and missed NCAA Tournament after winning the National Championship just a year ago. He averaged the most minutes and points per game in his career last season in his junior year, averaging 15.9 minutes and 4.1 points per game along with 2.7 rebounds.

Out of high school, Johnson was a four-star prospect ranked the No. 62 overall player in the country from the 2020 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s the brother of former Tar Heel and current Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson and enters the transfer portal with a career 41.7% shooting percentage from the field.

Regarding his decision to transfer Johnson told On3’s Joe Tipton, “I am grateful to be a Tar Heel. My time in Chapel Hill has taught me lessons that extend far beyond the basketball court. I have given 100% to the University on and off of the court. A heartfelt thanks to Coach Williams for recruiting me and giving me the opportunity to play at Carolina. I also want to thank Coach Davis and the entire UNC staff for giving me the opportunity to play under their leadership for the last two years. To my teammates, thank you for always being by my side and for being my brothers,” Johnson said.

Johnson added, “Most importantly, thank you Carolina Nation for embracing and supporting me throughout my time here. I will always love you, but the time has come for me to enter the transfer portal and take that next step as a basketball player. Thank you all for respecting my decision. I will always be a Tar Heel! – Donovan “Puff” Johnson.”