Brice Johnson Named ACC Player of the Week

The ACC accolades are voted on by a media panel. In this case, I am not sure it required a vote.

UNC’s Johnson scored 55 points and had 27 rebounds, nine assists, four blocks and five steals in road wins at Florida State and Syracuse. He was 21-of-27 from the floor (.778) and 13-of-19 from the foul line.

Johnson set single-game career highs in points (39), field goals (14), free throws (11), offensive rebounds (7), defensive rebounds (16), total rebounds (23), minutes played (37) and steals (tied, three) in a 106-90 win at Florida State. He scored 28 points in the second half alone. The Orangeburg, South Carolina, native became one of five Tar Heels ever to have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in the same game, and the first to do so in 40 years. He joined Billy Cunningham as the only players in UNC history to have at least 39 points and 23 rebounds in a game. Johnson was 14-of-16 from the floor and 11-of-16 from the foul line.

At Syracuse, Johnson scored 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor and had a career-high eight assists in the Tar Heels’ 84-73win. He had six assists in the second half, when the Tar Heels scored 51 points and shot .643 from the floor.

You could argue Johnson won the award after the FSU performance as long as he didn't pull another 3 point, 1-for-8 performance. His effort at Syracuse was impressive for the versatility shown. He went from scorer to facilitator and the linchpin for dismantling the Orange zone.

This is Johnson's second time this season winning the award and the third by a Tar Heel this season. Marcus Paige collected the other one.