Chansky's Notebook: An 'F-ing' Good Day

BROOKLYN — What was it that sparked Brice Johnson’s best college game?

When Johnson came to the bench with 16:44 left in the first half of Saturday’s UCLA-Carolina game in the CBS Sports Classic, he had one missed shot, one rebound and one block. His team also trailed by seven points. Little wonder he screamed an “F” bomb for FRUSTRATION, with such volume that Roy Williams heard it loud and clear.

Ol’ Roy didn’t like what he heard; apparently Brice should have yelled “FRICK!” at the top of his lungs. Anyway, Williams told Johnson to go sit at the end of the bench and if he said another word he could keep on going into the locker room. Good thing Johnson heeded his coach.

Eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, when Williams told Johnson to go back in the game, the Tar Heels were now down nine to the 22nd-ranked Bruins, who were shooting the lights out at the Barclays Center. The game turned around faster than you can say SUCK, which the Heels definitely no longer did. Johnson was so perfect for the rest of the day that Roy said he wanted to hug and kiss him – until he realized who it was.

Brice Johnson set a new career-high in points for the second straight game on Saturday, scoring 27 to lead the No. 11 UNC men’s basketball team past the No. 22 UCLA Bruins 89-76 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. (Smith Cameron Photography)

Too-nice Brice had turned terror on the hardwood. He made his next five shots in leading Carolina on a 19-10 run that tied the score at halftime. And with the team screaming “20 more minutes!” as it left the locker room, the Tar Heels turned it into a FAB afternoon in which Duke lost, Kentucky lost and Johnson may have become an NBA first-round draft pick.

He wound up shooting 6 for 6 in the second half to finish with a career high 27 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and helping the Heels take control of the game and basically blow out the Bruins over the last 10 minutes. He more than made up for the injured Kennedy Meeks, who sat on the bench dressed out in one of the spiffy NIKE black and blue uniforms.

This was an important win for Carolina, and performance on national TV in front of the New York media. It will vault the Tar Heels back into the top ten – to No. 6 or 7 – where a loss would have left them in the top 15 heading into the ACC season, almost too far back to eventually claim a high enough RPI for a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament. It showed they can still beat a quality team without Meeks and with Marcus Paige only scoring 7 points until he drained one from Manhattan with 2:22 left.

Carolina now comes home for four straight, including its first two ACC games against bottom feeders Clemson and Georgia Tech. Good position, thanks to Brice Johnson and his “F” bomb that made it all FINE.

Chansky’s Notebook: An ‘F-ing’ Good Day

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