PITTSBURGH – North Carolina guard Puff Johnson will visit the Penn State Nittany Lions while former Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan is staying in the ACC with UNC. The Vanderbilt Commodores hired a former Georgia Tech assistant coach under Josh Pastner.
Former UNC Guard Puff Johnson to Visit Penn State
Moon Township native and former North Carolina guard Puff Johnson will visit Penn State, his father told Jon Rothstein. Since placing his name in the portal, Johnson has heard from numerous programs, including Pitt. The 6-foot-8 junior concluded his third season at UNC by averaging 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 27 games (two starts).
The brother of Brooklyn Nets and former Tar Heels guard Cam Johnson, Puff scored 200 career points and a career-best 110 during the past year. Johnson has two years of eligibility remaining. The Nittany Lions made the big dance for the first time since 2011, and head coach Micah Shrewsberry left the program for Notre Dame. Mike Rhoades is in command of Penn State and has made multiple moves to fill out the roster.
Notre Dame Guard Cormac Ryan Commits to North Carolina
North Carolina is adding a veteran guard to its rotation. Notre Dame grad Cormac Ryan is becoming a member of the Tar Heels, he announced Thursday. A 6-foot-5 New York, N.Y. native, Ryan was a three-time team captain of the Fighting Irish and started all 32 games this season. He averaged a career-high 12.3 points per game for head coach Mike Brey and ended his Notre Dame career shooting 41.6% from the field and 36.4% from three.
UNC missed the NCAA Tournament after being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll preseason rankings. RJ Davis and Armando Bacot are returning to the team while Caleb Love transferred to Michigan and Leaky Black and Pete Nance graduated.
Vanderbilt to hire Anthony Wilkins as Assistant Coach
According to CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein, Vanderbilt is hiring Anthony Wilkins as an assistant coach to Jerry Stackhouse. Wilkins was on Josh Pastner’s staff at Georgia Tech last season. Pastner was fired after a 15-18 record and a 6-14 mark in ACC play, resulting in numerous players transferring from the program. The Commodores finished 22-15 (11-7 SEC) and defeated Pitt by one (75-74) on Dec. 7.
