| Puff Johnson | |
| Number: | 4 |
| Position: | Small forward |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 8 |
| Weight Lbs: | 200 |
| League: | Big Ten Conference |
| Team: | Penn State Nittany Lions |
| Birth Date: | 11 October 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| High School: |
|
| College: |
|
Donovan Christopher "Puff" Johnson (born October 11, 2000) is an American college basketball player who plays for the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference.[1]
Johnson attended Moon Area High School in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, for 3 years, helping lead the school to a state championship as a junior. As a senior, Johnson attended Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was coached by former NBA player Mike Bibby.[2] A 4 star recruit, he committed to North Carolina over Arizona.[3] [4]
Johnson played very little in his freshman season with the Tar Heels and finished the season averaging just 1 point per game.[5] This limited playing time initially continued into his sophomore season while battling through injuries.[6] [7] On February 26, 2022, Johnson scored a career high 16 points in an 84–74 victory over rival NC State.
In the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Johnson emerged as a valuable contributor, helping lead the 8 seeded Tar Heels to the Final Four.[8] In the championship game against Kansas, Johnson scored 11 points off the bench before being forced to exit late in the game after collapsing and vomiting; North Carolina lost 69–72.[9] [10] [11]
In his junior season, Johnson was one of the main rotation players used off the bench for the Tar Heels. Once again hampered by injuries that caused him to miss some time, he appeared in 27 of the team's 33 games.[12] Of his 27 appearances in the 2022–23 season, Johnson made two starts. Usual starter Pete Nance missed two games due to a back injury, so Johnson filled Nance's spot in the lineup while Nance was out. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game on the year.
Following the season, Johnson entered his name into the NCAA's transfer portal database, in search of more playing time elsewhere.[1]
Johnson committed to play his senior season at Penn State.[13]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| North Carolina| 14 || 0 || 4.1 || .429 || .111 || 1.000 || .5 || .1 || .1 || .1 || 1.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| North Carolina| 24 || 0 || 10.4 || .459 || .231 || .722 || 2.0 || .5 || .3 || .2 || 3.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| North Carolina| 27 || 2 || 15.9 || .387 || .283 || .658 || 2.7 || .4 || .6 || 0 || 4.1|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career|| 65 || 2 || 11.3 || .417 || .247 || .690 || 1.9 || .3 || .4 || .1 || 3.1
Johnson's older brother Cameron played for the Tar Heels from 2017 to 2019, and currently plays for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Johnson's mother is Croatian American.[14] His nickname "Puff" originated from his enjoyment of Cocoa Puffs when he was young.[15]