LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Former University of Kentucky basketball player Johnny Juzang announced Thursday that he's transferring to UCLA and will seek a waiver to become eligible immediately. The 6-foot-7 forward entered his name in the NCAA's transfer portal last month following his freshman season at UK, during which he averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game as a reserve.
Juzang, a California native, released a statement via Twitter thanking UK and its fans and explaining his decision.
"I want to thank Kentucky again for such an amazing experience. I'm so grateful for their dedication and commitment to my development as a player and person. To the coaches, my teammates, the trainers, the staff, and BBN, thank you, I'm always rooting for y'all."
Juzang continued: "It's a crazy time in the world right now, and with this current pandemic, I think being close to home, and close to family and friends is so important. I'm also very happy to be home with family and friends for support and well-being reasons. I'm sending prayers to everyone affected by this situation."
A four-star recruit out of high school, Juzang was originally part of the 2020 class but reclassified to 2019 and chose Kentucky over several other high-profile schools, UCLA among them.
"I can't explain how excited I am to play for Coach (Mick) Cronin and UCLA. Growing up in Los Angeles, 15 minutes from Westwood, I've always followed UCLA and dreamed of playing in Pauley Pavilion. Bringing a title back home is something that motivates me like nothing else," Juzang wrote.
Juzang averaged 12.4 minutes per game in 28 appearances for UK. One of Juzang's best performances came in his final game as a Wildcat when he scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in Kentucky's comeback from an 18-point deficit to knock off Florida in Gainesville in the regular-season finale.
UCLA finished 19-12 overall and 12-6 (second place) in the Pac-12 Conference in Cronin's first season as head coach in 2019-20. Cronin, the longtime coach at Cincinnati, took the Bruins job after Kentucky's John Calipari reportedly turned down an offer from the school last spring.
After a slow start, Cronin's first UCLA team closed by winning nine of its final 11 games. All five starters from this season's team are projected to return in 2020-21 for a Bruins squad rated among the top 25 in several early rankings. The team also adds five-star point guard Daishen Nix.
