A solid consolation if Smith stays in the draft and UCLA doesn't land Ziaire Williams or Joshua Morgan. Not enough volume to make any concrete conclusions but his shooting numbers improved once he hit conference play, even if his freshman year was overall a pretty big disappointment.
Getting shooters is never a bad thing, and if he gets a waiver to be eligible immediately he's an awesome fit with Daishen Nix and Jaime Jaquez, both of whom I pretty strongly expect not to be at UCLA past next year (moreso Nix).
Overall I don't expect him to be a superstar but I think he can be a really good number 2 guy for a high-level team and that's a valuable asset.
This seems like a huge get! Congrats to Coach Cronin, who continues to impress even during this crazy time... and of course, welcome back to LA, Juzang!
I think this is a positive sign of things to come. Flash, dash and cash may work at SC and Arizona, but with poor results because of weak coaching. We have a guy that can coach and develop players. Personally, I prefer our approach.
This is a really positive thing. Kentucky tends to get pretty high profile and promising recruits into their program. Remember that Juzang's HS recruiting phase was going on during the Alford reign of misery, so I have no issue with Juzang looking past Westwood. Granted, he didn't light things up at Kentucky, but he has a lot of development and opportunity in front of him, and it says a lot that he jumped at the chance to play for Coach Cronin at U.C.L.A. Welcome, home, Johnny!
This does present an interesting dilemma for Cronin. He potentially has a logjam at SG and SF.
He's got Singleton (6'4") and Bernard (6'6") at shooting guard. IMO, at 6'5", Jaylen Clark would appear to be destined for SG based on what I've seen on video.
He has Jacquez, Kyman, and Juzang, both at 6'6", who can play both positions. Kyman, however, seems to be locked into being a floor spacer, whether it comes as an SG or SF, as his game is pretty much based on the perimeter. If he has some competitive ball-handling skills, perhaps Cronin hasn't yet given him that responsiblity.
And then there's the Campbell and Nix issue. At the end of the season, Campbell was playing balls to the walls tough. It was apparent that he was the catalyst in the offense and in many situations, defensively, and that the team sufferered when whenever he sat for a rest. When you got the best PG in the country coming in with Nix, what happens with Campbell's minutes? I just can't see Nix taking Campbell's minutes, not when Campbell has proven himself as a floor leader.
That being the case, I could see Cronin putting Nix and Campbell together on the floor and running a two PG offense with shared ball-handling responsibilities. If this is the case, those available SG minutes for other players is going to be sparse.
And then there's always the possibility of Smith coming back or even more crazy is the possibility that Cronin lands Zaire Williams, a do everything guy who can play 2 through 4.
It's going to be an interesting season. Dammit I hope it starts on time.
- Josh Morgan committed to USC. Not an earth-shattering loss, but a loss
- Looks like there's going to be some voted for a blanket, one-time immediate eligibility waiver and while I think Juzang gets the waiver either way that would obviously guarantee the process. I'd put the odds he plays next year at about 80%
Great get. I was disappointed when he chose UK over UCLA. Welcome home. And come Monday, if we get Jgup, aka Josh Christopher, he is a game changer with a motor and enthusiasm that doesn't stop. I am not expecting Zaire but if we get Christopher, I will feel great about next year.
Hopefully the first of several transfers and commitments for coach Cronin. IMO he has started off strong and on the right foot. His style of basketball can and will result in many big dance opportunities.
Awesome pickup for us! Now we can play wing-ball with authority and lock teams up. This gives us what we needed from a backcourt standpoint with Tiger, Nix and Juzang on the wings. Johnny can shoot 3's with regularity! We could win the Pac-12 if the kids all buy-in! Go Bruins!!!
Fantastic! A big help to the team especially if Chris Smith goes pro.
A solid consolation if Smith stays in the draft and UCLA doesn't land Ziaire Williams or Joshua Morgan. Not enough volume to make any concrete conclusions but his shooting numbers improved once he hit conference play, even if his freshman year was overall a pretty big disappointment.
Getting shooters is never a bad thing, and if he gets a waiver to be eligible immediately he's an awesome fit with Daishen Nix and Jaime Jaquez, both of whom I pretty strongly expect not to be at UCLA past next year (moreso Nix).
Overall I don't expect him to be a superstar but I think he can be a really good number 2 guy for a high-level team and that's a valuable asset.
Awesome! Observation from watching Youtube highlights:
- Reminds me of Issac Hamilton. Not very athletic, but plays with fluidity and can shoot. Not sure how well he will be able to hold up on defense.
This seems like a huge get! Congrats to Coach Cronin, who continues to impress even during this crazy time... and of course, welcome back to LA, Juzang!
I think this is a positive sign of things to come. Flash, dash and cash may work at SC and Arizona, but with poor results because of weak coaching. We have a guy that can coach and develop players. Personally, I prefer our approach.
This is a really positive thing. Kentucky tends to get pretty high profile and promising recruits into their program. Remember that Juzang's HS recruiting phase was going on during the Alford reign of misery, so I have no issue with Juzang looking past Westwood. Granted, he didn't light things up at Kentucky, but he has a lot of development and opportunity in front of him, and it says a lot that he jumped at the chance to play for Coach Cronin at U.C.L.A. Welcome, home, Johnny!
This does present an interesting dilemma for Cronin. He potentially has a logjam at SG and SF.
He's got Singleton (6'4") and Bernard (6'6") at shooting guard. IMO, at 6'5", Jaylen Clark would appear to be destined for SG based on what I've seen on video.
He has Jacquez, Kyman, and Juzang, both at 6'6", who can play both positions. Kyman, however, seems to be locked into being a floor spacer, whether it comes as an SG or SF, as his game is pretty much based on the perimeter. If he has some competitive ball-handling skills, perhaps Cronin hasn't yet given him that responsiblity.
And then there's the Campbell and Nix issue. At the end of the season, Campbell was playing balls to the walls tough. It was apparent that he was the catalyst in the offense and in many situations, defensively, and that the team sufferered when whenever he sat for a rest. When you got the best PG in the country coming in with Nix, what happens with Campbell's minutes? I just can't see Nix taking Campbell's minutes, not when Campbell has proven himself as a floor leader.
That being the case, I could see Cronin putting Nix and Campbell together on the floor and running a two PG offense with shared ball-handling responsibilities. If this is the case, those available SG minutes for other players is going to be sparse.
And then there's always the possibility of Smith coming back or even more crazy is the possibility that Cronin lands Zaire Williams, a do everything guy who can play 2 through 4.
It's going to be an interesting season. Dammit I hope it starts on time.
Josh Christopher announces Monday
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.azcentral.com/amp/2970506001
In other transfers news:
- Josh Morgan committed to USC. Not an earth-shattering loss, but a loss
- Looks like there's going to be some voted for a blanket, one-time immediate eligibility waiver and while I think Juzang gets the waiver either way that would obviously guarantee the process. I'd put the odds he plays next year at about 80%
Great get. I was disappointed when he chose UK over UCLA. Welcome home. And come Monday, if we get Jgup, aka Josh Christopher, he is a game changer with a motor and enthusiasm that doesn't stop. I am not expecting Zaire but if we get Christopher, I will feel great about next year.
Hopefully the first of several transfers and commitments for coach Cronin. IMO he has started off strong and on the right foot. His style of basketball can and will result in many big dance opportunities.
Awesome pickup for us! Now we can play wing-ball with authority and lock teams up. This gives us what we needed from a backcourt standpoint with Tiger, Nix and Juzang on the wings. Johnny can shoot 3's with regularity! We could win the Pac-12 if the kids all buy-in! Go Bruins!!!
Awesome news