Brice Johnson hadn't been playing up to his full potential, and he knew it.
But during the No. 1 North Carolina basketball team's (3-0) 78-58 victory over Wofford (0-2) on Wednesday evening, the senior forward stepped up his efforts on both sides of the court with a performance that included 16 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
The performance gave Johnson his third consecutive double-double — marking the first time in his career he accomplished the feat. The clear change in effort did not go unnoticed by Coach Roy Williams.
“His rebounding was big, not just because of his numbers of 14, but because he was more active,” Williams said. “Brice and Kennedy (Meeks), more than anyone, I challenged them for how inactive they were in Sunday’s game (against Fairfield), and I thought they were much better today.”
Johnson and his teammates’ recent lack of effort frustrated Williams so much that he walked out of their film session on Tuesday.
“Even on film, you could see it,” Johnson said of his effort. “I was trotting back on defense last game, and he got really upset with us about that. He said he was tired of looking at us, because of the way we played on Sunday. I knew I had to do better.”
The Tar Heels looked sluggish again in the first half against the Terriers. Limping into the locker room at halftime with a minimal 34-29 lead, it looked like Wofford might give North Carolina a run in the second half.
That wouldn’t be the case, though, as Johnson opened the second half with a dunk that seemed to re-energize the team and the fans in attendance. This was the team Williams expected to see each game. And this was the Brice Johnson North Carolina needs while they’re missing senior guard Marcus Paige due to injury.
Sophomore wing Theo Pinson understands how valuable Johnson is to this team. A player like Johnson can set the tone of a game just with his rebounding, and those efforts filter through the rest of the team.
