Myles Announcing Friday

[Greene Rice FIG]

Myles Johnson is a great college center for just about every program. He is a notch below elite.

for the past 2 years he has been our most important player. If he isn’t important to other teams then what does that mean for us.

 

[Shelby65]

With all due respect, that’s utterly silly. A notch below elite ? Did he ever outscore the opposing center ? No. He’s a good defender, and a weak offensive player. At best, that makes him average.

What it says about us is that due to his limitations and the varying skills of the other players we needed to give him the minutes for defense only.

Paul and Ron can’t play defense at all, and Geo’s D is questionable. Myles played as much as he did only because the team needed that.

It’s a team game and that’s fine. A good fit here. But that doesnt mean he’s a very good center and it doesn’t mean he’d be a good fit in many other places.

 

[JMORC2003]

For anyone that thinks this should be a basketball decision is clueless . The guy has 1 or maybe 2 years of playing high level college basketball left . Then he has the rest of his life to live . And he probably wants to live in california since that is where he’s from. Rutgers basketball will go on without him and we we will be complaining about some other guy missing dunks soon enough. I thank Myles for his service and getting us a tournament win . Now we move on and so will he.

Bingo. Well said. We have no idea what’s in his head or what’s really driving his decision. What we do know is that RU b-ball will go on with or without him, as will life. It was a fun season. We will speak fondly of Myles whether he’s dreamin of the west coast or decides to do another year on the banks.

 

[knight82]

What made Myles so important to us was the fact that we had no one else who could effectively guard a Big Ten big man. I think Cliff will with more development and experience and maturity.

 

[zebnatto]

Agree, it’s not about hoops. Down the road I think Myles’ basketball ceiling would be as an itinerant international player which I believe is of ZERO interest to him.

 

[SBP]

It’s all about his education. Basketball is his ticket. Excellent defense, horrible offense, worse free throws. This is a no brainer, and wish him all the best!!!

 

[RUhobbit]

I love when threads like this allow posters to out themselves as idiots. My ignore list is in fighting shape.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Myles is not a plus player on offense but he is still a great college center IMO and we would be much better next season if he was returning.

 

[patk89]

With all due respect, that’s utterly silly. A notch below elite ? Did he ever outscore the opposing center ? No. He’s a good defender, and a weak offensive player. At best, that makes him average.

What it says about us is that due to his limitations and the varying skills of the other players we needed to give him the minutes for defense only.

Paul and Ron can’t play defense at all, and Geo’s D is questionable. Myles played as much as he did only because the team needed that.

It’s a team game and that’s fine. A good fit here. But that doesnt mean he’s a very good center and it doesn’t mean he’d be a good fit in many other places.

Myles is an elite defensive center. He will play major minutes at either UCLA or Stanford. To think otherwise is silly. His presence elevated RU hoops. On the offensive side, he is limited but a good passer and hits the boards. Your comments make it sound like RU was a terrible team and can't play defense. Yet we finished in the middle of the B1G, got a tourny bid, and came within a hair of the Sweet 16. How did we do that? Pike a genius?

Reminds me of people confidently stating that Dahntay Jones would never get off the bench at Duke. He proceeded to start for 2 seasons and then on to the NBA.

 

[RUChoppin]

Yeah, @Shelby65 just has an issue with Johnson, imo.

There's more to basketball than points scored. Johnson is a plus defender, a plus rebounder, and a plus shot blocker. He's also above average among centers for passing and steals.... and he's just hitting his peak. I'd expect his production to improve next year.

Our offense scored more points with him on the floor than off it - whether or not he was the one doing the scoring. We won when he was on the floor more, and we lost when he was on the floor less - which to me made him our clear MVP. Had he gone down to injury this year, we would not have made the tournament.

The major flaw in his game is shooting the ball more than 2-3 feet from the bucket, including FTs - and I think that holds him back from being considered "elite".

 

[KNICKI]

If he can make a layup we are not within a hair of the sweet 16. Maybe final 4 bound.
Pike was the guy to get him at this level. And to thank Pike, he goes for the prettier school.
RU has a good Engineering school also by the way. No loyalty. And we are talking about 1 more year commitment only. He could to CA after that. 1 more year to the school that helped mentor him athletically & academically is the right thing to do.

 

[RU MAN]

If he can make a layup we are not within a hair of the sweet 16. Maybe final 4 bound.
Pike was the guy to get him at this level. And to thank Pike, he goes for the prettier school.
RU has a good Engineering school also by the way. No loyalty. And we are talking about 1 more year commitment only. He could to CA after that. 1 more year to the school that helped mentor him athletically & academically is the right thing to do.

Really? Nonsense! He has an opportunity of a lifetime to go back to CA and get admitted into one of the best programs in the world. Yes, Rutgers is a top notch program, but it's not Stanford, UCLA or Berkeley. That has nothing to do with your perceived "loyalty."

 

[RUChoppin]

If he can make a layup we are not within a hair of the sweet 16. Maybe final 4 bound.
Pike was the guy to get him at this level. And to thank Pike, he goes for the prettier school.
RU has a good Engineering school also by the way. No loyalty. And we are talking about 1 more year commitment only. He could to CA after that. 1 more year to the school that helped mentor him athletically & academically is the right thing to do.

Why would it be a one more year commitment? He's looking to get a graduate engineering degree, which is a 2 year program - and he has 2 years of eligibility left with the NCAA waiver. Perfect opportunity to get your 1st choice program to pay for your degree for two years, so you can graduate with no debt.

I get that some people are angry at him (and only him?) particularly for the loss to Houston and have some sour grapes thoughts about him leaving, but he was just one of many factors that went south over the final few minutes.

 

[Shelby65]

Choppin, no....he was an important piece to THIS team because we basically had no one else who could play interior defense and rebound.

I’m the tallest person in my house but that doesn’t mean I’m tall.

His minutes elsewhere will depend if the other team has anyone else who can play interior D. We didn’t, so we we had to live with the weak offense.

It’s a tradeoff UCLA doesn’t need to make, and Stanford may not either.

 

[RUChoppin]

Choppin, no....he was an important piece to THIS team because we basically had no one else who could play interior defense and rebound.

I’m the tallest person in my house but that doesn’t mean I’m tall.

His minutes elsewhere will depend if the other team has anyone else who can play interior D. We didn’t, so we we had to live with the weak offense.

It’s a tradeoff UCLA doesn’t need to make, and Stanford may not either.

Nice thing is we can revisit this after next season to see whose impression of his ability was more accurate.

 

[Plum Street]

I don’t get the criticism about a solid starting center on the best team we have had in 40 years! Who is likely moving on for a world class Engineering Degree!
My God people ! Where the hell were you with bannon , waters , hill ....and the rest of the ensuing garbage players we had roll through ???

 

[RUBOB72]

This is probably the best choice for Myles Johnson and it should be. He was here 4/5 years minus 2020 and to play and finish his masters at UCLA or my preference Stanford is why we should be happy for him.A perfect example of the true student athlete.

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Myles is a perfect fit at UCLA under Mick Cronin. Stanford has really struggled in recent years. He might have a larger role for the Cardinal, but UCLA looks to be a top 5 team heading into the 21-22 season.

He was so good on defense, especially rebounding. Will be missed.

 

[Shelby65]

Plum...because that’s what it means to be a fan. Plenty among us have criticized the other starters at times too. Yes this has been our best team in decades but it’s still fair game to debate the players’ talents.

 

[ChrisNalwasky]

UCLA is the choice

 

[ColonelRutgers]

Just tweeted UCLA. Closer to home and better basketball program than Stanford but not sure how you can pass up a Stanford degree.

 

[Rokodesh]

If he can make a layup we are not within a hair of the sweet 16. Maybe final 4 bound.
Pike was the guy to get him at this level. And to thank Pike, he goes for the prettier school.
RU has a good Engineering school also by the way. No loyalty. And we are talking about 1 more year commitment only. He could to CA after that. 1 more year to the school that helped mentor him athletically & academically is the right thing to do.

This may be the dumbest post in 15 years of reading this forum

 

[IL Lusciato]

So it was more about basketball. 🤔

 

[Mr Magoo]

I knew it. Also tells me it wasn’t about the degree as much as we thought. He really wanted out.

 

[Salvi's Headband]

this is more embarrassing for us imho

 

[jordkap]

So it was more about basketball. 🤔

To be fair, UCLA is a very good school. It’s not as if he went to West Virginia

 

[soundcrib]

Oh well. It’s Cliff’s job to man the paint now. Let’s go Cliff!

 

[RedTeam1994]

This may be the dumbest post in 15 years of reading this forum

Exaggerate much.

not saying I agree with the post but can certainly understand a Rutgers fan having that opinion

it’s likely not the dumbest post made in the last 15 minutes, let alone 15 years

 

[dpwhite]

UCLA has a top 15 Engineering grad school and an excellent basketball program. It can still be about academics.

 

[goldaxis]

You guys do know that UCLA is higher ranked than us(academically) and has the #6 engineering program in the country, plus it’s way closer to home than Stanford

 

[bitnez]

UCLA is a really good school but it’s not Stanford. That said, it’s got a better basketball team. Myles owes us nothing but I’m in the camp that basketball was absolutely a factor here.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

 

[dpwhite]

UCLA is a really good school but it’s not Stanford. That said, it’s got a better basketball team. Myles owes us nothing but I’m in the camp that basketball was absolutely a factor here.

It’s also an hour from his home instead of 6 like Stanford. Of course basketball was a factor in the choice but I don’t think basketball was why he left Rutgers which is a key distinction.

 

[ru-baby]

Closer to family and being in the LBC he probably always thought of UCLA. That being said, Stanford is the clear choice.

 

[KNICKI]

Rokodesh can send him congratulation flowers lol

 

[RU MAN]

Just tweeted UCLA. Closer to home and better basketball program than Stanford but not sure how you can pass up a Stanford degree.

Agree, but UCLA's program is elite as well. Congrats Myles!

 

[RU MAN]

UCLA is a really good school but it’s not Stanford. That said, it’s got a better basketball team. Myles owes us nothing but I’m in the camp that basketball was absolutely a factor here.

But UCLA's program is still elite. It's not that far off from Stanford. Personally, I thought it would be between Stanford and UC Berkeley, but still, UCLA is damn good and congrats to Myles.

 

[rubjk]

I knew it. Also tells me it wasn’t about the degree as much as we thought. He really wanted out.

UCLA is a top engineering program too and a very difficult school to get into. It most certainly is also about the degree. #13 in the country in graduate computer engineering programs.

 

[Antnee79]

He also announced a change in his Twitter handle to Myles Away

 

[BillyC80]

Imagine you’re Mick Cronin with a Final 4 team and Myles Johnson falls in your lap because your school has an excellent graduate engineering school and his family lives nearby.

Cronin will figure out the best way to utilize Myles, who’ll be a fan favorite with his defense, rebounding, blocked shots, passing skill and dunks. If coaches teach him some offensive moves and a sky hook, watch out.