RALEIGH, N.C. — Pittsburgh has released guard Cameron Johnson to play immediately at North Carolina as a graduate transfer.

Johnson’s father, former Pitt player Gil Johnson, said the school notified the family Thursday that it has removed any restrictions for his son to play next year for the reigning national Tar Heels. Pittsburgh had cited an internal policy in trying to require the 6-foot-8 Johnson to sit out a year if he went to another Atlantic Coast Conference school instead of playing right away with two seasons of eligibility.

“It’s been a frustrating couple of months,” Gil Johnson told The Associated Press on Thursday afternoon. “But I’m a true believer in generally people end up doing the right things more times than not, especially by a young man who has given the university everything he could over the past three years. So I was prayerful that Pitt would do the right thing.”

Pitt issued a statement confirming Johnson’s release and wishing him “the very best as he pursues his graduate degree.”

“We’re Pitt Panthers, no hard feelings at all,” said Gil Johnson, who played for Pitt from 1988-90. “We understand that they had an obligation and a duty to the university. And we have an obligation and a duty to the university — but to our son as well.”

Cameron Johnson graduated in three years, including a medical redshirt season in 2014-15, and will provide the Tar Heels with perimeter scoring.