Ty Kish @CityLeagueHoops
Nate Britt having an excellent game in front of future coach Roy Williams. Britt is playing against future teammate Joel James #USABMU18
Ty Kish @CityLeagueHoops
Nate Britt playing the best basketball I've ever seen from him. Finding teammates for open shots & knocking down 3's all day #USABMU18
Нэйт, кстати, тоже в расширенном списке сборной Ю18
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Еще одна инсайдерская статейка
Johnson Ready to Learn
Brice Johnson wants to make sure his last few weeks at home are memorable. Scheduled to arrive in Chapel Hill on June 17, Johnson is hanging with friends, relaxing with family and spending time with his father before enrolling in the second summer session at UNC.
He’s even got some new wheels to do it in.
After graduating from Edisto (S.C.) High School last month, Johnson’s father -- and Edisto head coach -- Herman Johnson bought his son a new car.
“This is his first car,” Herman Johnson said. “This summer will be his chance to drive and enjoy himself. It’ll be something for him to come back and forth with.”
Herman Johnson called his son’s graduation “bittersweet.”
“We’ve been together – just me and him – for a while and sometimes it’s been hard, but I’m just so proud of him. As a coach, when you get someone who has the opportunity to play at the next level, at a place like North Carolina, it’s definitely something special.”
“It was a great moment for me,” said Brice of graduation. “I’ve been working hard to get to this point for a long time.”
The hard work for Brice will continue when he gets to Carolina.
In addition to the rigors of being a Division I student-athlete – mandatory weightlifting sessions, conditioning drills and individual workouts – Johnson will also have to learn to balance his academic responsibilities.
It’s a challenge he’s ready to accept.
“I’m just looking forward to going up there and learning,” he said. “On the basketball court and in the classroom."
With the departures of Tyler Zeller and John Henson, Brice’s on-the-court challenge could be contributing to a team that lacks experienced post play outside of sophomore James Michael McAdoo.
One way he plans to prepare for seeing a lot of minutes his freshman year is summer pickup at UNC.
“I played in some games last year on one of my visits,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to playing in games with all the guys. I can learn some things from the older guys.”
The incoming freshman class – Brice, J.P. Tokoto, Marcus Paige and Joel James – will be roommates this year.
“Those are my brothers,” Johnson said. “We talk all the time – we talk about any and everything.”
One of the first things on Johnson’s agenda once he settles in at UNC will be picking a uniform number. He originally wanted No. 10, however it was worn by Tar Heel legend Lennie Rosenbluth and is retired.
While he says there is some nervousness and emotions that will undoubtedly come when Brice heads to Chapel Hill, Herman Johnson trusts the UNC coaching staff.
“It’s going to be emotional to see him go, because he’s my only one,” he said. “To put your trust in someone else to look after him, that’s going be kind of hard. But, I think he’s going to be in good hands. Between the man upstairs and the folks at Carolina, he’ll be OK.”
Simmons Eager to Contribute
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- Upon receiving the news that he’d be on scholarship again for his sophomore season at UNC, the first call Jackson Simmons made was to the two former college basketball players that got him started on the sport at a young age.
His parents.
“We both have put in a lot of work for me to get to this point,” Simmons said on Wednesday. “I was ecstatic because I knew I’d put in the work to get to this point and I’m still working hard to not only keep that status but also contribute to this team and help this coming year.”
Simmons made the decision to attend UNC without assurances that a scholarship would be available. The North Carolina state record-holder for career rebounds (1,554 at Sylva (N.C.) Smoky Mountain) declined offers from Davidson, Old Dominion and Charlotte for an opportunity in Chapel Hill. It wasn’t until two months before enrolling that he learned he’d have a scholarship as a freshman.
“I really took a leap of faith and trusted in Coach Williams and his vision for me here,” said Simmons, whose UNC scholarship is on a year-to-year basis based on availability. “I came here because I wanted to play at the highest level and personally I feel like I can play at the highest level. If I didn’t believe I could, I wouldn’t have.”
But no one, Simmons included, expected that to happen overnight.
The 6-7 forward appeared in 23 games as a freshman, logging most of his limited minutes at the end of already decided contests. That was on a team that had two future first-round draft picks (Tyler Zeller, John Henson) established as the starting post players, plus another (James McAdoo) behind them. This coming season, McAdoo returns, but UNC will need significant game and practice contributions from among the four other post players on the roster – all of which are unproven commodities.
Simmons recognizes the opportunity. His postseason meeting with Roy Williams centered on offseason improvement and re-establishing an identity.
“We talked about goals for this offseason, that’s mainly the gist of what we talked about: continue to improve as a basketball player,” he said. “The biggest thing for me is I want to put everything together – defense, rebounding and scoring. We both felt I could do that, but also focusing on the little things – rebounding, taking charges, being the first one to get on the floor, because that’s one thing I’ve been known to do, being the first on the floor. I really want to get back to that being my motto, being somebody who will do the little things and everything it takes to win a game…
“He wanted me to go in to pick-up games with the mindset of wining as many games as I can. I want to put winning above everything else.”
