Brice Johnson is the player North Carolina wants every recruit to be

Roy Williams will be the first to tell you he’s spent four years riding Brice Johnson, pushing North Carolina’s senior big man to be stronger, to play smarter, to fulfill the potential he saw in him as a skinny but relentless four-star recruit in the class of 2012. Williams waited and wondered if tough love would equate to tangible progress, for the proverbial light to go on and for Johnson to make a leap from good to great for a Tar Heels team on the brink.

Halfway through his final season of college basketball, there’s no question it’s happening.

You could see it against UCLA, when Johnson mercilessly attacked the middle of the Bruins’ defense to finish 11-of-12 from the field for 27 points and help UNC come back from an 11-point halftime deficit.

You could see it against Florida State, when Johnson flexed his way to 39 points and 23 rebounds, which had star guard Marcus Paige telling reporters “I’m speechless” and Williams saying it was “about as good as any (performance) I’ve ever seen.”

You could even see it against Syracuse, when Johnson, who only had 20 assists in the first 16 games of this season and had never finished with more than four in one game, picked about the Orange’s vaunted zone for eight assists as the Heels ruined Jim Boeheim’s return in front of a packed Carrier Dome.

For his first three years of school, there would always be something holding Johnson back. He would lack the bulk to withstand pounding in the post, he’d be pulled after committing a silly foul or his lack of shooting range would handicap his effectiveness. He’d also be a victim of his own emotions, with Williams forever trying to corral his fire. It’s evident that Johnson very much still has that passion, only as a senior the rest of the Heels are starting to feed off of it.

“He’s obviously a guy who shows his emotions, wears his emotions on his sleeve,” Paige said after the UCLA game. “He dunks it, he’s flexing. He gets a foul, he’ll slam the ball. He’s just an outwardly emotional person. Sometimes, we feel like that’s a negative thing, but it can also be a positive thing.”

(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

The truth is that the Heels need the extra kick. This is a team returning four starters from last year’s Sweet 16 squad and one without an immediate impact addition to the roster over the summer. Everyone knows UNC is talented -- we’re talking about a team that regularly brings two or three McDonald’s All-Americans off the bench -- but its only road to a deeper tournament run this year was through internal improvement.

With Johnson, they’ve found it.

It’s starts with finishing around the basket. Johnson’s true shooting percentage has risen from 58.5 percent as a junior to 67.5 percent as a senior -- the 20th best mark in the country -- off the strength of his prowess at the rim. Hoop-Math has him converting an incredible 95 percent of his shots at the rim (up from 74.8 percent last year) while less of his buckets in close are coming off assists.

To watch Johnson this year is to see two-point baskets become as authoritative as possible.

Johnson can point to the muscle he’s tirelessly worked to add for his gaudy new numbers. DraftExpress’ last measurement on Johnson came in 2011, when he weighed only 185 pounds. UNC lists him at 230 now, and it isn’t empty weight gain. It’s taken four years to add around 40 pounds to his frame, but his season is a testament to the hard work being worth the wait.

While Johnson will never be the stretch big man that has become so en vogue recently, he has extended his range enough to keep defenses honest. He hit two tough midrange jumpers like this in the first half against Syracuse, which helped make his zone-busting passes more effective.

It doesn’t stop there. Johnson’s also raised his defensive rebounding percentage eight points since last year, where his 30.6 rate now puts him No. 7 in the country. He’s even gotten better at the foul line, shooting 80 percent from the charity stripe after hitting 57.7 percent of his free throws as a freshman, 62.2 percent as a sophomore and 67.8 percent as a junior.

People might forever think of North Carolina as a bristling pro factory, but the truth is Williams’ program has had far more success with players like Johnson. He was the No. 34 recruit in the country as a high school senior, and he’s turned into a dominant player by seeing his development through at the college level.

Instead of fighting Kentucky and now Duke for the one-and-done NBA talents, UNC has been content grabbing sub-headliners, save for the inspired 2014 class. Here’s this season’s rotation and their class ranking entering school:

UNC’s two 2015 signings -- Kenny Williams (No. 84) and Luke Maye (No. 97) -- weren’t blue chips, either. The 2016 class is good, with big man Tony Bradley (No. 26), guard Seventh Woods (No. 53) and wing Brandon Robinson (No. 61), but it pales in comparison to the juggernaut classes John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski have signed.

Some might take that as a sign Ol’ Roy is losing his touch in recruiting at age 65, but maybe he’s just zagging when the other bluebloods are zigging. Why wage war for one-and-dones when veterans like Paige, Johnson and Meeks have this team in line to be a national title favorite come March?

For as hard as Williams as been on Johnson, his evolution as a senior has led to an bigger development: he isn’t just the player UNC always wanted him to be, he’s the player Williams’ program wants everyone to be.