FAIRBANKS - Paul Johnson has officially signed with the Nanooks men's basketball team. He becomes the fourth newcomer for the upcoming 2022-23 season after spending time at the NCAA Division III level.
"Paul is a great young man transferring to UAF from a high academic school University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash." said head coach Greg Sparling, "He will be a great addition to the program, the University, and community. As a freshman at University of Puget Sound, under Head Coach Aubrey Shelton, Paul put together a great year on the court and is dedicated to working hard to achieve success at the D2 level. He will help us in the backcourt as a combo guard."
Johnson, a 6'0" guard from Seattle, Wash., joins the Nanooks after spending two seasons with the University of Puget Sound Loggers. During his freshman season, UPS played a shortened season during COVID. He scored 12.8 points per game while shooting 40.8% from the floor, 39.5% from deep and 83.3% from the free-throw line. In his second season, while remaining an athletic freshman, Johnson posted career numbers. In 21 games he posted 18.5 points per game while shooting 45.8% from the field, 42.7% from beyond the arc and 75.6% from the free-throw line. He averaged 3.7 rebounds a game while tallying 46 assists and picking up 16 steals on the season.
Johnson's offensive numbers ranked high in the Division III Northwest Conference (NWC). His points per game total was fourth in the NWC, his three-pointers per game (2.4) ranked third, his FG% ranked 14th and his FT% ranked seventh. His 2.2 assists per game was 20th in the NWC.
Additional men's basketball signees will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks men's basketball program, follow @NanooksMBB on Instagram or Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks athletics page on Facebook.
