Alex Johnson thrives in Red-White scrimmage
An estimated crowd of 10,982 hustled from the Wolfpack's 13-0 win at Carter-Finley Stadium to the RBC Center to watch the Red-White scrimmage and serenade Amile Jefferson with chants of the prospect's name throughout the contest.
In its debut under new coach Mark Gottfried, the Pack played three 12-minute periods with the score reset at the end of each. The teams were also mixed up at the end of each period, but fans were treated to a new-look squad that didn't really resemble the 2010 team.
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The star of the day was graduate student point guard Alex Johnson, who was playing in front of the Pack faithful for the first time. Teams that Johnson was on won two of out the three periods, and he nearly helped the Red team take the final frame.
Johnson and fellow point guard Lorenzo Brown led the way with 10 points apiece in the first period of play, but Johnson led the White team to a 26-22 victory.
Johnson tied for the lead among scorers in the second frame, as well, with eight points. Junior Richard Howell and freshman Thomas De Thaey also tallied eight points in the second, which the White won 30-25. Gottfried called Johnson the standout of the first two periods of action in his post-game comments.
The White team, without Johnson, was victorious again in the final period with a huge slam from C.J. Leslie going down as the decider in a 30-29 stanza. The sophomore forward finished with 14 points in the third while C.J. Williams, playing with a broken thumb, chipped in 10.
Johnson led all scorers with 23 points over the three periods, in addition to five assists, while Brown finished with 21 points and eight assists. Leslie chipped in 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Pack will return to the RBC Center on Monday, Nov. 7 for an exhibition contest against Flagler.
Following the game, The Wolfpacker caught up with Gottfried, Leslie, Johnson and Scott Wood. Links to their audio interviews can be found below: