Wooden Watch: North Carolina’s Brice Johnson discusses breakout season
Brice Johnson is finally having the type of season that North Carolina fans had always hoped he would. The Tar Heels senior forward is averaging nearly a double-double with 16.1 points and 9.7 rebounds a game, and he almost single-handedly held down the frontcourt while Kennedy Meeks battled injuries through December and early January.
On Tuesday, Johnson joined me on SI’s Wooden Watch to discuss his breakout season, the Tar Heels’ chances of being No. 1 next week and his relationship with coach Roy Williams.
After the interview with Johnson, I break down my top 10 candidates for player of the year honors. Here is that complete list:
1. Buddy Hield, senior guard, Oklahoma — 26.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
2. Kris Dunn, junior guard, Providence — 17.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 6.7 apg
3. Jarrod Uthoff, senior forward, Iowa — 18.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.1 bpg
4. Denzel Valentine, senior guard, Michigan State — 17.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 6.6 apg
5. Ben Simmons, freshman forward, LSU — 19.4 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 5.1 apg
6. Perry Ellis, senior forward, Kansas — 15.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
7. Georges Niang, senior forward, Iowa State — 19.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.1 apg
8. Brice Johnson
9. Josh Hart, junior guard, Villanova — 15.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.7 apg
10. Melo Trimble, sophomore guard, Maryland — 13.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 5.7 apg
