His first nickname indicates a level of perceived slickness on the basketball court. Clemson coach Brad Brownell could care less about that, all he wants from new transfer pickup 6-4 Efram “Butta” Johnson is some backcourt scoring and use of that body for defensive purposes.
Johnson is transferring after three seasons at UAB in which he played in 100 games, starting 46, and averaged eight points and two rebounds per game. Johnson was a career 40% shooter with the Blazers, 34% from three and he shot 84% from the foul line.
Defensively, he totaled 59 steals and 14 blocks with the Blazers.
The Huntsville, AL native would appear to have one season of eligibility remaining as he played three full seasons at UAB, none during the Covid season, and he never played junior college ball.
Johnson is the fourth transfer taken by Brownell from the portal and he is the seventh newcomer for the 2025 class overall.
UAB bio on Johnson:
Sophomore Season (2023-24)
- Appeared in 34 games while making 25 starts and playing 31 minutes per game.
- Averaged 11.2 points and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 43 percent from the field.
- Recorded 20 double-digit scoring efforts with two games of 20+ points.
- Finished the season with a team-high 56 3FGs while shooting .359 from beyond the arc.
- Led the team with an .821 (64-78) free throw percentage.
- Scored 17 points while shooting 7-for-11 from the field vs. Clemson (11/10/23).
- Added 18 points and hit the game-winning three against Alcorn State (11/16/23).
- Hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer at UTSA (1/2/24).
- Scored 15 points and dished out a career high six assists in a win over Tulane (1/17/24).
- Reached 20 points for the first time in his career on the road at SMU (2/4/24).
- Scored a career high 21 points in UAB’s AAC Tournament win over top-seeded South Florida (3/26/24).
- Led the Blazers with 19 points in the NCAA Tournament against San Diego State (3/22/24).
Freshman Season (2022-23)
- Appeared in 29 games
- Ranked second on the team in 3FG% at 37.8 percent
- Scored a career-high 14 points and dished out four assists vs. Rhodes College while shooting 6-of-9 from the field (11/26/22)
- Matched his career high of 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in win over UTEP (12/29/22)
High School
- Starred at the point guard position for longtime Grissom High School head coach Jack Doss in 2021-22
- Helped lead the Tigers to a 24-6 record in 7A as a senior
- Helped lead Grissom to a 13-1 home record in his final high school season
- Led all scorers with 21 points in a 64-58 road victory over Gadsden City in Grissom’s regular-season finale
Personal
- Nickname is “Butta” – Efrem “Butta” Johnson
- Chose UAB over offers from St. Bonaventure, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, Jacksonville State, UNCG, Lehigh, Bryant, Tennessee Tech, McNeese State, Norfolk State and Hampton
- Played travel basketball for head coach Boo Williams and Nike EYBL
- Was named Third Team Nike EYBL Session I after averaging 15.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game
- Birthday: June 25, 2003
Clemson 2025 newcomers:
- TRENT STEINOUR 6-9 MOORESVILLE, NC
- ZAC FOSTER 6-3 ATLANTA
- CHASE THOMPSON 6-8 ALEXANDRIA, MN
- NICK DAVIDSON 6-10 TRANSFER NEVADA
- CARTER WELLING 6-10 TRANSFER UTAH STATE
- RJ GODFREY 6-8 TRANSFER GEORGIA
- EFRAM JOHNSON 6-4 TRANSFER UAB