UNC Forward Puff Johnson Transferring to Penn State

The former Tar Heel reportedly received interest from Kentucky upon entering the portal.

Another reported target in the transfer portal for Kentucky basketball is off the board. 

On Wednesday afternoon, North Carolina forward Puff Johnson announced his commitment to Penn State, transferring to play for the Nittany Lions:

Let’s Rock #WeAre pic.twitter.com/Af2bpiMfEv

— Puff Johnson (@PuffJohnson14) April 26, 2023

Johnson was one of the first players to enter the portal, doing so before the end of the 2022-23 season back in late March. Upon his entry, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported that Kentucky was one of many programs that were interested in the Tar Heel forward.

From then on, not much noise came out of Johnson's camp. He hails from Moon Township, Pa., the same city as Kentucky head coach John Calipari, so the link for interest was clear to see, but the rumor mill didn't churn. 

Johnson has never broken through in his three seasons as a Tar Heel. As a freshman, he played in 14 games and played more than five minutes just twice. He took on a bigger bench role as a sophomore, playing 24 games, averaging 10.4 minutes.

He scored a career-high 16 points and had five rebounds in a win over NC State that season, and even contributed 11 points, six boards and an assist in UNC's National Championship loss to Kansas. Those were two of only three games where he eclipsed 10 points that year.

This season, Johnson appeared in 27 games and averaged 15.9 minutes, a slight uptick. He averaged just 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds, shooting 38.7 percent from the floor (28.3 percent from 3-point range). He originally committed to UNC over Arizona, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Pittsburgh.

Johnson will now head to Happy Valley. He is another target that garnered interest from UK, but won't be wearing blue and white, joining Tennessee commits Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado) and Chris Ledlum (Harvard), and North Carolina commit Harrison Ingram (Stanford). 

Kentucky's focus has clearly lied on Michigan's Hunter Dickinson, the top-ranked player in the portal. Three players from Kentucky's 2022-23 roster entered the transfer portal, with two — CJ Fredrick (Cincinnati) and Sahvir Wheeler (Washington) — already finding new homes. Forward Daimion Collins is currently the lone Wildcat on the market. 

More on the soon-to-be Wildcats HERE.

Inside Kentucky basketball's somber locker room after NCAA Tourney defeat HERE.

More on the potential roster overhaul in Lexington HERE.

More on the loss to Kansas State HERE.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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