Tag: Kobe Johnson

Kobe Johnson returns to USC campus for first basketball game since transfer

Kobe Johnson faces USC for the first time since he transferred to UCLA. Buckle up!

It should be quite a scene inside USC’s Galen Center on Monday night. Kobe Johnson, who helped USC make the NCAA Tournament and was a very productive player for the Trojans, transferred to UCLA basketball when Andy Enfield left for SMU. The fact that he transferred out of the USC program when a coaching change occurred does not upset Trojan fans at all.

Transferring to UCLA, however? That hits differently, as Trojans Wire’s Adam Bradford explained:

In the transfer portal era, fans are generally understanding when players decide to look elsewhere. Had Johnson transferred to just about any other school in the country, USC fans would have thanked him for his time in Cardinal and Gold and wished him the best of luck.

But even in today’s new age, rivalries remain the heartbeat of college sports. While transferring to a different school is widely viewed as normal and acceptable, switching sides in a rivalry is where most fans draw the line.

It will be interesting to see how the Galen Center crowd receives Kobe Johnson. It will be important to see how much Kobe Johnson does to help UCLA defeat the Trojans.

Kobe Johnson returns to Galen Center wearing blue

If Kobe Johnson had gone anywhere else, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but he transferred to UCLA. Monday night should be spicy.

For three years, Kobe Johnson was a USC basketball fan favorite at Galen Center. A two-time team captain, Johnson was a strong leader and constantly remained humble. While the likes of Drew Peterson, Boogie Ellis, Isaiah Collier, and Bronny James naturally drew most of the attention, Johnson was always content to let them have the spotlight and let his play on the court speak for itself. However, this past offseason, that all changed when Johnson decided to transfer from USC to crosstown rival UCLA. In a heartbeat, he went from a player USC fans loved to one of the Trojans’ biggest villains.

When the Trojans host the Bruins at Galen Center Monday night, it will mark Johnson’s return to Galen Center. He will do so wearing a color USC fans cannot stand: UCLA light blue.

In the transfer portal era, fans are generally understanding when players decide to look elsewhere. Had Johnson transferred to just about any other school in the country, USC fans would have thanked him for his time in Cardinal and Gold and wished him the best of luck.

But even in today’s new age, rivalries remain the heartbeat of college sports. While transferring to a different school is widely viewed as normal and acceptable, switching sides in a rivalry is where most fans draw the line.

So when Johnson hears his name introduced at Galen Center Monday night, don’t expect a particularly warm welcome from the Trojan Family.

Previewing USC-UCLA hoops with UCLA Wire’s Jake Hamilton

Trojans Wire talked to UCLA wire about Monday night’s big game in the Galen Center. USC is in must-win mode.

Monday night, when USC basketball hosts UCLA, marks the first men’s basketball Crosstown Showdown of the season. It will mark the beginning of a new era in the storied rivalry. For one thing, it will be the first matchup between the schools as members of the Big Ten Conference. In addition, it will mark the introduction to the rivalry for Eric Musselman, who is in his first season as the Trojans’ head coach.

Ahead of the matchup, I spoke to UCLA Wire’s Jake Hamilton to ask him a few questions about the Bruins.

Adam: How has UCLA fared in adjusting to the Big Ten thus far?

Jake: UCLA’s first season in the Big Ten has been up and down. The Bruins have a nasty habit of playing up to their competition and playing down to it. With big wins against Oregon, Wisconsin, and Iowa, UCLA showed what they can be at their best. On the other hand, in their losses to Michigan, Nebraska, Maryland, and Rutgers, the Bruins look disjointed and, in some ways, lost. This upcoming stretch of games (Washington, USC, Oregon, and Michigan State) should be telling as to whether or not the Bruins can contend in the super-sized Big Ten.

Adam: Kobe Johnson made headlines when he transferred from USC to UCLA this offseason. What has his impact been for the Bruins thus far?

Jake: Johnson has struggled to find a rhythm thus far with the Bruins, averaging only 7.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. One of the culprits for Johnson’s minimal impact is the Bruins’ offense. UCLA has a lot of mouths to feed at the guard position between Skyy Clark, Dylan Andrews, and Sebastian Mack. The Bruins have a “committee” backcourt in many ways. In most cases, the Bruins feed the hot hand. Johnson is due for a breakout game in a UCLA uniform, perhaps against his former team. That said, the clock is ticking for the senior to make a statement on the Bruins.

Adam: Unlike in years past, UCLA’s roster is not filled with high-profile players. Who are some guys that USC fans should familiarize themselves with ahead of the game?

Jake: Sebastian Mack and Eric Dailey Jr.

When Mack gets minutes, he can score in bunches, scoring ten or more points in ten games for the Bruins this season. The sophomore guard is streaky as a scorer, something that could be huge in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. The problem? Mack, in his somewhat limited role with the Bruins this season, is a volume shooter. And when Mack can’t make good on his three-point attempts, he can become a liability on offense. However, no team in the Big Ten should want to face the Bruins on a night when Mack is hot. That’s for sure.

Dailey Jr. is a reliable two-way player for the Bruins. He is a relatively consistent scorer and can routinely score in the double digits. Shooting over 50% from the field and over 33% from three, Dailey Jr. is a solid contributor for the Bruins and is leaned on heavily when they need a bucket. Unfortunately, Dailey Jr. often finds himself in foul trouble. Dailey Jr. has fouled out twice this season and committed four fouls in five of the Bruins’ eighteen games. For Dailey Jr. to have a pronounced impact this season, he will need to be more polished and avoid unnecessary fouls.

Adam: What is your prediction for the game?

Jake: Nearly every statistic is identical between the Bruins and the Trojans thus far this season. From points per game to field goal percentage to rebounds, the two Los Angeles programs are neck and neck. That said, UCLA’s defense will be the deciding factor. Allowing only 64.7 points per game to opponents, the Bruins should manage to slow down Desmond Claude and the Trojan offense. Having dug their way out of a four-game losing streak in the Big Ten, the surging Bruins will eke out a narrow win against the Trojans, 72-67.

UCLA men put away Washington on the road for third straight win

UCLA remained tough on the road despite Washington’s comeback bid.

On the road and under the lights, the UCLA Bruins took down the Washington Huskies 65-60 to improve to 14-6 and 5-4 in the Big Ten. Winners of three straight, the Bruins have snapped back into a rhythm after a tumultuous start to the calendar year.

However, things did not look good for the Bruins early. Forward Tyler Bilodeau left the game briefly with an apparent ankle injury. As the Bruins settled in, their shooting started to heat up.

The Bruins outshot the Huskies from three (52.9% to 22.7%), creating and finishing good looks beyond the arc all night.

Double-digit scoring performances from Eric Dailey Jr., Skyy Clark, Kobe Johnson, and Aday Mara off the bench helped lift the Bruins past the Great Osobor-led Huskies. Osobor finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Down the stretch, as the Huskies tried to mount a late comeback at home, the Bruins held on and finished off Washington with a late three-pointer from Dylan Andrews to bring the lead to 63-57 with 17 seconds left. That was the dagger which sealed the UCLA win after Washington pulled within three points in the final minute.

As head coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins prepare for rival USC on Monday night, all eyes will be on Bilodeau’s availability, given his impact on UCLA’s offense in the paint.

UCLA hoops jumps to No. 24 in latest AP college basketball poll

The Bruins land back in the Top 25.

The UCLA Bruins have hit their stride after a shaky start to the college basketball season. Taking down No. 12 Oregon, the Bruins returned to the AP Top 25 ranking this week.

Landing at No. 24 in the AP Poll, just behind San Diego State, Cincinnati, and Big Ten comrade Michigan State, the Bruins are a perfect 7-0 since their sole loss to New Mexico in early November.

After knocking off two Big Ten opponents in a row, first Washington, then Oregon, the Bruins are finally rolling. Entering the season as the No. 22 team in the AP Poll, the Bruins are right around where they started. With Big Ten play to ramp up over the next two months, UCLA has an opportunity to continue to build momentum.

Given the transfer additions of Skyy Clark, Kobe Johnson, and Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA rightfully had high expectations this season. If their newly-added star players can take to Mick Cronin’s coaching, the Bruins should be in the hunt for a long run in the NCAA tournament this spring.

Trojans Wire and UCLA Wire discuss Kobe Johnson, past and future

We talked to UCLA Wire about how Kobe Johnson will fit with Mick Cronin.

The USC-UCLA football rivalry will enter a new chapter this fall. The Trojan-Bruin basketball rivalry enters a new space next winter in the Big Ten. One big source of intrigue in Los Angeles college basketball next season will be Kobe Johnson, who transferred across town to Westwood to join Mick Cronin after Andy Enfield left USC for SMU.

We wrote this about Kobe Johnson after he transferred to UCLA:

“Kobe Johnson doesn’t hijack a team’s offense. He might not be that great a shooter or scorer, but at USC, he didn’t try to dominate the ball or take shots away from Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier. He took shots because he was open, not because he insisted on being the man to take a shot. He will be selfless and a team player, and that is certainly part of what attracted Mick Cronin when he pursued Kobe in the transfer portal.”

We had UCLA Wire editor Matt Wadleigh on our podcast to discuss this and other USC and UCLA sports topics. Here’s the show:

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UCLA’s Kobe Johnson one of the best Big Ten transfer moves

The Kobe Johnson hype continues.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team is full of talent for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.

One of the biggest additions by many is ex-Trojans player Kobe Johnson, who has garnered a lot of buzz this offseason.

Cater Bahns of 247Sports revealed the 10 best transfer portal moves for the Big Ten Conference, and former USC player Kobe Johnson was third on the list: 

The transfer portal opened the door to a new era of college athletics wherein players often move from one school to a rival program, and that is what Kobe Johnson elected to do with his intra-city transfer from USC to UCLA. He brings with him to Westwood two years of starting experience and three years of development as a stellar defensive weapon. Johnson appeared on the last two Pac-12 All-Defensive Teams. His offensive production is not entirely lacking, but a step forward in the shooting department would go a long way in making him a complete player.

Johnson’s impact will be a big one, and Trojans Wire believes he could come in and start for Mick Cronin’s team. 

The top two players on this list are great Osobor, who went to Washington, and Oumar Ballo, who went to Indiana, in a pair of Pac-12 departures.

Jon Rothstein sees Jaylen Clark similarities in Kobe Johnson

Jaylen and Kobe Johnson similarities?

One of the first transfer portal additions of the offseason for the UCLA Bruins was former USC player Kobe Johnson.

He came to UCLA just after Skyy Clark transferred, and the addition of Johnson and Clark were big ones.

What Johnson brings to the table should be a big boost for UCLA next season, especially poaching him from the crosstown rivals.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein mentioned how he sees some similarities between Kobe Johnson and Jaylen Clark:

The 6-6 Johnson (10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds) meanwhile, should instantly resemble former UCLA star Jaylen Clark, who was the National Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 before suffering a torn achilles tendon prior to the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament.

If Johnson can be anywhere near as valuable as Jaylen Clark was, that would be a massive addition to Mick Cronin’s team. There is also reason to believe that Johnson could start for the Bruins, so this could be one of the biggest additions of the offseason.

USC fans hope Trent Perry and Kobe Johnson do not thrive at UCLA

It will be a nightmare if Trent Perry and Kobe Johnson both have breakout seasons under Mick Cronin.

USC basketball has a new sheriff in town. Eric Musselman has remade a roster which is not yet 100-percent finished. That roster could turn out to be very good, and if it does, Trojan fans will be happy. However, while seeing USC improve is priority number one, there is a concern among Trojan fans that UCLA might soar with its own remade roster. Trent Perry, a former USC commit, joined Mick Cronin and the Bruins on Wednesday. We now have a situation in which a former USC commit and a former USC player will be Bruins next season. Kobe Johnson transferred from USC to UCLA. He and Perry will be hard to ignore on the Los Angeles college basketball scene.

UCLA Wire wrote about Perry after his commitment:

“The UCLA Bruins basketball program landed a massive commitment from McDonald’s All-American Trent Perry on Wednesday.

“Previously, Perry had received a crystal ball projection to go to Virginia before it changed and became favored for UCLA. On Wednesday, it was made official as the former USC commit now will head to Westwood.

“It is another huge recruiting win for Mick Cronin in what has been a terrific offseason after a disappointing 2023-2024 campaign.”

If Trent Perry and Kobe Johnson flourish at UCLA, it will be a throbbing headache for USC fans. The Trojan family simply has to hope that Eric Musselman will be so good that UCLA’s success becomes less of a storyline in L.A. college hoops.

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Kobe Johnson’s shooting needs to improve for UCLA

Kobe Johnson has some things to work on as well.

What does Kobe Johnson bring to the table? The UCLA Bruins’ big transfer addition from USC has a lot of talent and is a welcomed addition to the program.

Trojans Wire site editor Matt Zemek examined his strengths and if he can be a starter for UCLA. Now, he speaks on the weaknesses of Johnson’s game and what he needs to improve on.

Johnson needs to work on his offense, particularly his shooting. He simply did not shoot the ball well. If he can become a knockdown 3-point guy for the Bruins, UCLA will be extremely tough to beat. However, who would look at this past season at USC and say that Kobe Johnson will be a breakthrough offensive player? Kobe actually did hit some big late-game 3-pointers for USC in the 2022-2023 season, and we all hoped he would take the next step as an offensive player in 2024, but that simply did not happen. Mick Cronin has to develop Kobe on offense for UCLA to realize its potential in 2025.

There is a lot to like about Kobe Johnson going from USC to UCLA, but he needs to improve his shooting.