\u201cHe just happened to be flying out of town, and we\u2019re close to the airport,\u201d Rodriguez remembers. \u201cAnd he says, \u2018Hey, I want to swing by to see Cam on my way. Is he working out today?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, he could swing by, Rodriguez responded.<\/p>\n
Nobody was working out that day.<\/p>\n
But the fleeting opportunity was too golden to pass up. Senior Cam Johnson<\/a> was an ace student with a collection of basketball scholarship offers from mid-major Division I programs Marist, Rice and Columbia. But none from a Power Five team. Pitt was the local ACC team. His dad had played there 25 years earlier. It was Johnson\u2019s dream school at the time.<\/p>\n So Rodriguez scrambled to set up an impromptu workout, calling in favors from alumni in addition to current players. Anything to assemble enough people available on the holiday.<\/p>\n As it turned out, enough were eager to help Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got 10 guys in the gym \u2014 I don\u2019t know how competitive the 10 guys were \u2014 but we threw them in there. \u2026 And you know something, they knew what it was all about,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThey knew it was about showcasing Cam. That\u2019s how good Cameron was to his teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n With Johnson\u2019s parents also in attendance, Dixon watched the workout and then offered Johnson a scholarship on the spot. It was a watershed moment of recognition on his journey to the NBA, which is taking him to Denver next. The Nuggets made a surprise offseason splash this week when they traded Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets, receiving the 29-year-old Johnson in return.<\/p>\n He\u2019s set to replace Porter in the starting lineup after a career year in Brooklyn, where he compiled 18.8 points per game on 39% outside shooting. But those who\u2019ve coached and trained Johnson would attest that what makes him a natural fit with Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets is his selflessness as a teammate and his cerebral approach to the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason he\u2019s in the NBA is because the guy works,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cNot because of his size. Not because of his shooting. I mean, that man works.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s truly a coach\u2019s dream,\u201d said Brad Frederick, who had Johnson for two seasons at North Carolina after he grad-transferred from Pitt. \u201cHe\u2019s an awesome guy, player, worker. He\u2019s savvy.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet he\u2019s often been overlooked. For most of high school, it made sense. Johnson was a late bloomer, waiting for a growth spurt and obsessing over his jump shot in the meantime. Rodriguez remembers him spending countless extra hours alone with a shooting machine to master his form. \u201cI\u2019d like to say I developed that shot,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe always was a great shooter,\u201d said Isiah Neely, who was a grade older than Johnson. \u201cHe was an extremely hard worker, but he was laid back. Always smiling. Very articulate in his words, very knowledgeable.\u201d<\/p>\n The hard work was finally rewarded after Johnson\u2019s junior year, when he skyrocketed by several inches. He took off as a prospect, leading to his stealth commitment to Pitt. He graduated there in three years, then got his master\u2019s degree in sports administration from UNC in two.<\/p>\n In basketball, his IQ served him equally well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t really a set-heavy team, so we liked to play fast and run secondary break. We were a small team his senior year, and Cam would play the four-spot for us sometimes,\u201d Frederick said. \u201cA lot of what he got in terms of open shots was just because he was able to kind of create his own looks and because he was able to run the floor so well. We could pitch it ahead to him for shots.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew he was a good student, but the cerebral part was just something we didn\u2019t have any idea of. He was just a guy we were able to play multiple positions. For us, he ended up playing two through four, which is something we didn\u2019t expect when we got him.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Cameron](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2193975761.jpg\")
Cameron Johnson (2) of the Brooklyn Nets shoots against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at Moda Center on January 14, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
![\"Cameron](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-623990450.jpg\")
Cameron Johnson (23) and Sheldon Jeter (21) of the Pittsburgh Panthers talk against the Southern Methodist Mustangs in the first half during the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 17, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n