After Saturday’s win at Notre Dame, head coach Roy Williams gave each player a grade for the game on the team bus. Cameron Johnson received an F and some sharp criticism.
“It’s never fun for your coach to get on you like that and especially after a win,” Johnson said. “I just thanked God every second after that game that we came out with the win.”
“If we would have had that kind of game and lost to them, my F would have felt a lot worse.”
Johnson said he couldn’t argue with the criticism from his coach. After shooting just 2-10 from the field, he wasn’t playing up to anyone’s standards. Something was off with his shot.
When he called his father after the game, he noticed it too.
“You’re not getting your feet set when you’re shooting,” Johnson recalled his father Gilbert saying. “Your feet are not in a good position, and your shot is going left and right.”
In search of a remedy, Johnson went immediately to the gym when the team arrived back in Chapel Hill from South Bend, Ind. He took shot after shot, paying close attention to detail on his form and on his feet.
Before the game on Tuesday, he arrived early for some last-minute shots with coach Hubert Davis. Then, he just played.
Johnson scored the second basket of the game for the Tar Heels that ignited an 18-3 run to start the game. But a few minutes later, he took a good shot from beyond the arc and missed. Were the shooting woes back?