Myles Johnson

For the English badminton player, see Miles Johnson.
Myles Johnson
Johnson with UCLA in 2021
Personal information
Born (1999-03-18) March 18, 1999 (age 25)
Torrance, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High schoolLong Beach Poly
(Long Beach, California)
College
PositionCenter
Career highlights and awards

Myles Johnson (born March 18, 1999) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the UCLA Bruins. He was named to the all-defensive team in both the Big Ten Conference with Rutgers and the Pac-12 Conference with UCLA.

High school career

Born in Torrance, California,[1] Johnson played basketball for Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California. He missed his entire junior season with a patella injury, which caused Pac-12 college programs to stop recruiting him.[2] As a senior, Johnson was named to the Press-Telegram First Team Dream Team.[3] He committed to playing college basketball for Rutgers over offers from Georgia Tech, Hawaii and Yale.[4] He was drawn to Rutgers' engineering program, and decided on the school before even meeting their basketball team.[5]

College career

Johnson (No. 15) with Rutgers in 2020

Johnson opted to redshirt his first year at Rutgers University to become stronger and work on his game. As a freshman, he averaged 4.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game,[6] which ranked third among Big Ten freshman.[7] He posted 18 points and 14 rebounds, both career-highs in a 63–44 victory against Lafayette on December 22, 2019.[8] On January 3, 2020, he scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 79–62 win against Nebraska.[9] In his sophomore season, Johnson entered the starting lineup and averaged 7.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He shot 60.2 percent from the field, which led the Big Ten.[10] As a junior, Johnson averaged eight points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game,[11] and the Scarlet Knights were selected for the 2021 NCAA tournament.[12] He earned Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors.[13] He completed his undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering in May 2021.[14][1]

In 2021–22, Johnson transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, choosing the Bruins' program over Stanford's.[15] He filled in for starting forward Cody Riley, who suffered a knee injury in the season opener, which kept him out for almost two months.[16] Johnson played in all 35 games, starting in 15, and averaged 3.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.[14] He was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.[17] After the season, Johnson announced that he would not return for another season and instead planned to focus on completing his master's degree and pursuing a career in engineering.[14][18] He considered a pro basketball career overseas, but decided against living in a country where he did not speak the language.[16]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Rutgers Redshirt Redshirt
2018–19 Rutgers 31 0 17.6 .555 – .405 5.7 1.1 .7 .7 4.8
2019–20 Rutgers 31 25 23.6 .602 .000 .363 7.9 1.0 .5 1.5 7.8
2020–21 Rutgers 28 22 24.7 .628 – .435 8.5 .8 1.1 2.4 8.0
2021–22 UCLA 35 15 18.1 .630 – .533 5.4 .7 .6 1.3 3.6
Career 125 62 20.8 .603 .000 .424 6.8 .9 .7 1.5 5.9

Source:[19]

Personal life

Johnson is an electrical and computer engineering major in college.[20] While attending Rutgers University, he founded BLKdev, a nonprofit organization that aims to support black students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Johnson was a member of the Rutgers Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.[21] In 2022, he was awarded a Tom Hansen medal by the Pac-12 for his performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.[22] His father is an electrician and his aunt is an engineer.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b "Myles Johnson". UCLABruins.com. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Carino, Jerry (December 22, 2020). "Rutgers basketball: How Myles Johnson slipped through the Pac-12's fingers". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Guardabascio, Mike (April 13, 2017). "Zafir Williams named boys basketball Press-Telegram Dream Team Player of the Year". Press-Telegram. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Know Your Knights: Myles Johnson". Rutgers University Athletics. August 22, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Cangiano, Andrew (January 29, 2021). "Rutgers Athlete Seeks to Inspire Black Youth to Pursue Sciences". New Brunswick Today. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Breitman, Aaron (October 15, 2019). "Myles Johnson primed for breakout season for Rutgers basketball". On the Banks. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Whicker, Mark (February 3, 2020). "For Long Beach's Myles Johnson, Rutgers' basketball revival is a bonus". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Johnson guides Rutgers to 63–44 victory over Lafayette". ESPN. Associated Press. December 22, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "McConnell subs for Baker, leads Rutgers past Huskers 79–62". ESPN. Associated Press. January 3, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Nalwasky, Chris (August 18, 2020). "An early look at the updated Rutgers men's basketball roster for 2020". Rivals. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Buckley, Clint (March 25, 2021). "Rutgers' Myles Johnson entering NCAA Transfer Portal". 247Sports. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Carino, Jerry (March 24, 2022). "March Madness: UCLA's Myles Johnson a familiar face at East Regional". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  13. ^ Patuto, Greg (March 25, 2021). "Myles Johnson announces plan to enter the transfer portal". On the Banks. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Fattal, Tarek (April 28, 2022). "UCLA's David Singleton announces return, but Myles Johnson bids fairwell [sic]". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  15. ^ Bolch, Ben (April 16, 2021). "UCLA gets commitments from Myles Johnson, Dylan Andrews". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Bolch, Ben (April 28, 2022). "UCLA's Myles Johnson puts basketball dreams aside to start engineering career". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  17. ^ Kartje, Ryan (March 8, 2022). "UCLA's Johnny Juzang, USC's Isaiah Mobley among All-Pac-12 picks for Bruins, Trojans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  18. ^ "UCLA's Singleton to stay, Johnson leaving Bruins". NBCSports.com. April 29, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  19. ^ "Myles Johnson". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  20. ^ Lorincz, Kevin (October 8, 2020). "Rutgers Men's Basketball Star Strives to Inspire Black Teens in STEM". Rutgers University. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  21. ^ Fonseca, Brian (November 2, 2020). "More than just a basketball player: The many interests of Rutgers' Myles Johnson". NJ.com. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "UCLA's Myles Johnson, Perez Named Pac-12 Tom Hansen Medal Recipients". Culver City Observer. June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  23. ^ Deren, Bobby (December 4, 2018). "Myles Johnson engineering a bright future on and off the court". 247Sports. Retrieved July 8, 2021.