Myles Johnson Announces Departure From UCLA Men's Basketball, Focus on Engineering
The Bruins' are officially down one big man heading into next season.
UCLA men's basketball center Myles Johnson will not be part of the program moving forward, the former Rutgers transfer announced Thursday on Twitter. Johnson had one year of eligibility remaining, but has elected not to cash it in, setting his sights on his career in the engineering field instead.
After earning his undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering last June, Johnson enrolled in UCLA's graduate engineering school. Johnson said he looks forward to finishing his master's degree in Westwood regardless of his departure from the basketball team.
Johnson played in all 35 of the Bruins' contests this past season, making 15 starts and averaging 3.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Those numbers, and Johnson's overall impact on UCLA's interior defense, helped him earn a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team at the conclusion of the regular season.
That honor was nothing new for the 6-foot-10 big man, who earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in 2021. Across his final two seasons with the Scarlet Knights, Johnson averaged 7.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
Johnson was unable to put up those kind of numbers in Westwood, since he wound up splitting playing time with fellow fifth-year post player Cody Riley when Riley returned from an early-season knee injury.
Riley is now the lone upperclassman who has not announced their plans for next season, with Peyton Watson and Johnny Juzang headed to the NBA Draft, Jules Bernard testing the waters, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and David Singleton returning and Jake Kyman transferring to Wyoming.
As it stands, UCLA has 11 players on scholarship for next season, and that number would go to 12 if Bernard decides to run it back. If Riley does not use his final year of eligibility either, the Bruins could have two or three spots open to add new transfers where coach Mick Cronin sees fit.
UCLA's big man rotation will have a vastly new look in 2022, especially if Riley ends up leaving alongside Johnson. Those two played almost all the minutes on the block this past year, meaning Cronin and his staff could be forced into going a new direction at the position.
Mac Etienne is set to return from the torn ACL he suffered in October, and Kenny Nwuba is headed into his fifth year with the Bruins. McDonald's All-American center Adem Bona is set to arrive on campus over the summer, giving Cronin three bodies to work with down low, plus any others he might add from the transfer portal.
Johnson boasted more length – both in terms of height and wingspan – than any of those options, though, so UCLA may not have that level of rim protection on its roster next season, barring a new addition.
“Myles has been a great addition for our program at UCLA,” Cronin said in a statement released by the team. “Simply put, he’s one of the best people who I have had the pleasure of coaching. Myles has worked very hard during five years in college. He’s on track to get his graduate degree in electrical engineering from UCLA, and he has tremendous professional opportunities ahead of him. He is a very driven, humble and motivated young man who is destined to make our world a better place. UCLA basketball has become a much better program by having Myles Johnson as part of our family.”
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