UNC Basketball: Puff Johnson transfers to Penn State

Former Carolina swingman Puff Johnson has announced his transfer to Penn State:

Johnson is one of six Tar Heels who have departed Chapel Hill via the transfer portal this offseason. He joins a Penn State program in transition, with former head coach Micah Shrewsberry departed for the Notre Dame job after leading the Nittany Lions to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to #2 seed Texas. Former VCU coach Mike Rhoades has taken over the program.

Recall that the Johnson family is from Moon Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Brother Cam Johnson transferred to Carolina from Pitt, and there was worry that Puff could have taken a reverse course to the Peterson Events Center. Instead he will head to Happy Valley, unlikely to go head-to-head with Carolina, unless in the NCAA Tournament.

During his three years in Chapel Hill, Puff Johnson has seen his fair share of injuries, mostly to his knees. He has played more games with every passing year, with a career high 27 last season, increasing his scoring and rebounding each time. However, during his Carolina career, he only averaged 3.1 ppg and 1.9 rpg. His position was always under threat to be upgraded in the transfer portal.

Besides being a second family member to play for UNC, Puff will be remembered for his heroics against Duke in the Final Four, where he valiantly boxed out Paulo Banchero after Armando Bacot fouled out of the game, then when he scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds against Kansas as the only true substitute.

Best of luck to Puff as he heads off to State College.