A former UCLA Bruins got some love from his head coach this week.
Johnny Juzang, the 6′ 5″ former UCLA Bruin guard, went undrafted in 2022 but managed to find his way to the Utah Jazz on a two-way contract with the Salt Lake City Stars.
This weekend, Juzang scored a season-high ten points, four rebounds, and one assist in twenty minutes against the lowly Washington Wizards.
But following the game, Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy said of Juzang’s performance on Monday, “I do want to shout out Johnny Juzang. I thought he played 20 rock-solid minutes. Johnny’s worked really hard since he got with us last year. He’s a guy who probably hasn’t gotten enough opportunity based on the roster, timing, and health.”
“Without question, Johnny has worked incredibly hard for the last year and a half and has really improved,” Hardy continued.
Johnny’s put in the work, now he’s seeing the results 📈#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/yQMYy09IvC
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 5, 2024
Though Juzang has faced injury problems early in his career, the promise he showed this past weekend is a welcome sign for the former Bruin.
If he can stay healthy, Juzang could move up the bench for the Jazz and continue to make headlines, joining the list of young, talented former UCLA alums.