Pac-12 Basketball

Guard Johnny Juzang announced Wednesday that he is withdrawing from the 2021 NBA draft and returning to UCLA for his junior season in 2021-22:

After playing a small role as a freshman for Kentucky in 2019-20, Juzang broke out the following season after a transfer, averaging 16.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for a Bruins team that surprisingly reached the Final Four.

Regarding Juzang's return, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin noted:

Juzang was especially strong during UCLA's six-game run during the NCAA tournament, which ended with a heartbreaking 93-90 overtime loss to Gonzaga in the Final Four. He averaged 22.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 three-pointers made while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three.

He saved his best performance for last, totaling 29 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals versus Gonzaga.

In Juzang, the Bruins are returning their leading scorer. No. 2 scorer Chris Smith, who appeared in only eight games last season, is likely to be UCLA's only significant loss.

Among the other players set to return in 2021-22 are guards Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and Jules Bernard, as well as forward Cody Riley. The Bruins are also adding 5-star forward Peyton Watson, 247Sports' No. 8 prospect.

The team only went 17-9 (13-6 in the Pac-12) before the NCAA tournament last season and needed to win a play-in game to reach the field of 64, so there is plenty of room for UCLA to improve its pre-tournament record next season.

The Pac-12 has hired George Kliavkoff as its new commissioner. 

In a statement released by the conference, Michael H. Schill, University of Oregon President and chair of the five-member search committee, explained the decision to hire Kliavkoff:

“He is the new prototype for a sports commissioner. While George has deep sports experience, his biggest asset is his ability to listen, connect with diverse groups, find common ground, collaborate and navigate an evolving landscape. We believe George’s overall skills and experience will become even more prevalent in college sports leadership.”

Kliavkoff is the president of entertainment and sports at MGM Resorts. 

Per Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, Kliavkoff worked for Major League Baseball in the early 2000s and helped oversee the development of MLB Advanced Media. 

"He's proven he knows how to get s--t done," one source told Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and Fox Sports. "He's not Larry Scott. He's gonna listen, collaborate and build trust with ADs."

In January, the Pac-12 announced that Scott would assist in the transition to a new commissioner before departing June 30. 

Scott is leaving with one year remaining on his contract, which was set to expire in June 2022.

ESPN's Kyle Bonagura noted Pac-12 presidents and chancellors "expressed to [Scott] a belief that a change in leadership would make sense."

Scott told Bonagura he agreed with them, so the decision was made for him to move on.

The 56-year-old had early success in his run as Pac-12 commissioner. He helped expand the conference when Utah and Colorado came on board in 2011, developed the Pac-12 Championship Game in football and negotiated a 12-year, $3 billion television deal with ESPN and Fox that at the time was the largest of any college conference in the country.

As television rights deals for sports have exploded in recent years, the Pac-12 deal signed in 2011 has fallen behind some of the contracts signed by other Power Five conferences.

Bonagura wrote in January that Pac-12 revenues for the 2018-19 academic year trailed the Big Ten by more than $250 million. 

Disney signed a 10-year, $3 billion television deal with the SEC to broadcast football games on ABC and ESPN starting in 2024.

Scott has been commissioner of the Pac-12 since 2009 when he took over from the retiring Tom Hansen.

The USC women's basketball program announced Monday that it has hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Lindsay Gottlieb to be the team's next head coach.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Gottlieb is signing a six-year contract with the school.

Gottlieb took to social media to show her appreciation for the city of Cleveland:

Gottlieb, 43, will return to the college game after two seasons on J.B. Bickerstaff's staff in Cleveland (she was originally hired by John Beilein, though he lasted less than a season as head coach), where she "played a role in everything," per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

That included "game preparation and player development with the Cavs' strong young core of Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro."

Previously, she served as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara (2008-11) and Cal (2011-19). She won two Big West championships, a Pac-12 regular-season championship, led Cal to the Final Four in 2013 and led her teams to seven NCAA tournament appearances.

Per Woj, Gottlieb made the decision to return to the college ranks "after an aggressive USC pursuit to bring her back to the Pac-12 Conference, including a massive upgrade in program salary and resources with hopes of restoring USC to the elite of women's college basketball."

She'll have her work cut out for her at USC—the team went just 11-12 last season and hasn't made an NCAA tournament since the 2013-14 campaign. In the past 24 seasons, the USC women's basketball team has made the tourney just three times.

UCLA star Johnny Juzang announced Tuesday he intends to enter the 2021 NBA draft while leaving the door open for a return to the Bruins. 

"I am going [to] continue to work and give the passion I always have and see where it takes me," Juzang wrote. "I'll then make an informed decision. Blessings!"

Juzang was a 4-star recruit and the No. 33 player in 247Sports' composite rankings coming out of high school, but he struggled to make an impact in his freshman season at Kentucky. Following his transfer to UCLA, the California native blossomed while playing close to home.

In 27 games, the 6'6" guard averaged 16.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Juzang saved some of his best performances for the NCAA tournament. He dropped 28 points on Michigan in the Elite Eight and finished with 29 points and six rebounds in the Bruins' overtime loss to Gonzaga in the Final Four.

ESPN's Jonathan Givony provided a brief scouting report:

"The 20-year-old Juzang is intriguing to NBA teams due to his combination of size, standing 6-foot-7, and shot-making ability. He proved to be a difficult matchup for college wings to handle in one-on-one situations with his ability to score with his back to the basket, elevate in midrange spots, shoot off screens and make pull-up 3-pointers."

As much as he did to improve his draft stock in the Big Dance, suiting up for the Bruins in 2021-22 might be Juzang's best move. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman didn't rank him among the 50 best players in the upcoming draft class, while The Athletic's Sam Vecenie pegged him at No. 60.

The UCLA Bruins have hit the jackpot after star recruit Dylan Andrews committed to play basketball for the school starting in 2022. 

Andrews announced his decision Friday, discussing the matter with Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports:

"Who wouldn't love the culture of winning and development. I committed to UCLA because it is the best place for me to grow as a player and a person. The coaching staff likes high character guys and work horses. That describes a portion of who I am. One thing I love about the program is how they get guys to the next level and how they encourage them to get that degree. That is important to me."

Andrews added that the Bruins' coaching staff—led by Mick Cronin—influenced his decision, per Jenkins: "The one thing I love about the coaching staff is their history of winning and pushing their guys past that invisible limit."

A standout talent at Windward High School in Los Angeles, he is one of the best point guard recruits in the country. He is rated as a 4-star prospect, sixth-best point guard and No. 31 overall player in the 2022 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Andrews would fit the bill for what every head coach in the country wants out of a point guard because of his diverse skill set, with Shotgun Spratling of 247Sports offering this scouting report: "The 6'4", 180-pound Andrews has great size for the point guard position and he uses it well, attacking the boards. He is Windward's floor general, both in position and the way he approaches the game as a lead-by-example player. He likes to push the pace when he has the ball in his hands."

Every school is looking for a dynamic playmaker to build their offense around. The Bruins were able to land one of the best in the country, with Andrews likely to be a huge difference-maker for them as soon as he steps on campus. 

Andrews was not the only addition for the Bruins on Friday. Rutgers grad transfer Myles Johnson also chose UCLA over Stanford.

The USC men's basketball team has avoided a postseason ban for NCAA infractions committed by former associate head coach Tony Bland.

The NCAA announced Thursday it placed the Trojans on probation for two years and levied a fine of $5,000 plus 1 percent of the men's basketball program budget. Bland received a three-year show-cause order.

USC was among the schools involved in the FBI's investigation into corruption in college basketball.

In January 2019, Bland pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. He had admitted to receiving $4,100 to help direct players to sign with specified financial advisers and managers.

The NCAA referenced the FBI's investigation in its announcement detailing the penalties for USC:

As part of his plea deal for federal proceedings, the former associate head coach acknowledged that he had accepted a bribe during a July 2017 meeting with financial advisors and business managers in exchange for directing basketball players to retain their services.

Government recordings from that meeting and a second meeting in August 2017 — which were evidence in federal court — revealed the associate head coach had touted his ability to connect the company with current or prospective student-athletes, noting that he had heavy influence over players’ decisions.

However, the organization also noted Bland "met his obligation" when he cooperated with NCAA investigators and provided the necessary information in the case.

Officials also looked favorably upon USC after the school issued self-imposed sanctions in advance of any final ruling. The Trojans reduced their available scholarships by two for the 2018-19 academic year and slightly limited the amount of contact they could have with prospective recruits.

USC head coach Andy Enfield guided the team to the Elite Eight this March for the first time since 2001. Leading scorer Evan Mobley is likely to move on to the NBA, but the Trojans sit 14th in 247Sports' composite team rankings for the 2021 recruiting cycle.

While the NCAA investigation cast a shadow over the program, the outcome shouldn't hinder USC much after the school avoided the worst-case scenario.

Former Arizona men's basketball head coach Sean Miller, who was relieved of his duties on Wednesday, released a statement Thursday noting that "it was an honor" to lead the program, which he did for 12 seasons.

Miller coached Arizona from 2009-21. The Wildcats made seven NCAA tournaments, reaching the Elite Eight three times.

The program had fallen on hard times over the past four years, however.

Arizona won the Pac-12 regular-season title and tournament in 2018 but fell to No. 13 seed Buffalo in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats then missed March Madness entirely in 2019 following a 17-15 season.

They were likely headed back to the tournament in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the remainder of the season during Championship Week.

However, Arizona did not make the 2021 tournament, and that was because the Wildcats gave themselves a self-imposed ban. ESPN's Jeff Borzello explained why on Dec. 29.

"The decision comes as a result of the NCAA investigation stemming from the 2017 federal investigation into corruption in college basketball and college basketball recruiting. ESPN and The Athletic reported in October that Arizona had been hit with nine NCAA violations, including five Level I allegations. The Athletic reported that Arizona was charged with lack of institutional control and failure to monitor, and head coach Sean Miller was charged with lack of head coach control."

Arizona may have had trouble making the tournament even without the decision as it finished just fifth in the Pac-12 with an 11-9 record.

For context, fourth-place UCLA, which lost in the quarterfinals, barely snuck into the tournament field as an at-large team, participating in the First Four before its Final Four run.

The Wildcats did not participate in the conference tournament due to the ban.

Miller's Arizona career ends with him going 302-109 in Tucson with three Pac-12 titles. Before his Arizona stint, he spent the previous five seasons in Xavier, leading the Musketeers to four NCAA tournaments and one Elite Eight appearance.

The UCLA Bruins surpassed all expectations by going from the First Four to the Final Four during the 2021 NCAA men's tournament, and head coach Mick Cronin received a contract extension as a result.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported the news.

It wasn't just that UCLA made the Final Four but how it did so that stood out.

It overcame a double-digit deficit and outlasted Michigan State in a hard-fought overtime battle in the First Four, upset the sixth-seeded BYU Cougars by 11 points in the first round, persevered again in overtime against Alabama in the Sweet 16 and then used a dominant defensive performance to stun top-seeded Michigan in the Elite Eight.

The run only came to an end when Jalen Suggs drilled a buzzer-beater from just inside half court to propel Gonzaga to a victory in the Final Four matchup.

Such an impressive showing during the tournament was surely a welcome development after the Bruins were somewhat inconsistent at the start of Cronin's tenure.

They went 19-12 during his first season in 2019-20 and barely made the Big Dance in 2020-21 at 17-9 on Selection Sunday. They lost their final three regular-season games and their first contest in the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon State before bouncing back in dramatic fashion.

Expectations are now sky-high for Cronin's bunch entering the next campaign.

UCLA checks in at No. 3 in very early rankings from Jeff Goodman of Stadium and No. 2 on the list from ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

The Arizona Wildcats are reportedly considering Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd to replace Sean Miller at the head of the Pac-12 program, according to Jim Meehan of The Spokesman-Review. 

Arizona fired Miller on Wednesday after 12 years in Tuscon during which he compiled a 302-109 record but failed to advance past the Elite Eight.

Lloyd is currently the head coach-in-waiting at Gonzaga, where he's worked on Few's staff since 2000.

Meehan noted Lloyd serves as a massive recruiting tool for Few, helping land notable international players like Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Pangos, Kelly Olynyk and Ronny Turiaf. Leading recruiting efforts at a West Coast program is certainly a strong qualifier in general. 

Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth told Meehan that Lloyd had received interest from three other programs this year alone before the latest Arizona rumors. That comes as no surprise to Roth, who believes the coach is destined to run his own team one day.

Said Roth:

We’re committed to Tommy here and he knows that. We’ve made that public. If Gonzaga is committed to Tommy, where our program is and where it’s been built and Tommy has been such an important part of this, why wouldn’t any other school have him on their list, even high on their list.

“We’ll continue to do our best to let him know this is where we want him to be a head coach someday when the time comes and we want him between now and then to help us be one of, if not the best, basketball programs in the country.”

Arizona is the latest high-profile program to feature a head coaching vacancy this offseason after Roy Williams retired at North Carolina, Shaka Smart left Texas for Marquette and Chris Beard left Texas Tech for the Longhorns. 

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Damon Stoudamire, Miles Simon and Josh Pastner remain in consideration for the Wildcats job.

Sean Miller's time as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is over.

On Wednesday, the school announced Miller would be leaving the program, though his contract would still be honored.

Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke addressed the matter in a statement:

"We appreciate Sean's commitment to our basketball program and to the university. After taking the many factors involved into account, we simply believe that we need a fresh start and now is the time. I want to thank Sean, Amy and their sons for their service to the university and wish them the very best in the future."

Jeff Goodman of Stadium previously reported the Pac-12 school parted ways with Miller with one year remaining on his contract. Goodman noted the administration "stuck by" the coach during the federal investigation into corruption in college basketball, but Miller was charged with failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance by the NCAA in March.

Arizona hired Miller prior to the 2009-10 season after he coached five seasons for the Xavier Musketeers.

In 12 years as Arizona's coach, Miller went 302-109 with five Pac-12 regular-season titles, three Pac-12 tournament titles and seven NCAA tournament appearances. The Wildcats advanced to five Sweet 16s and three Elite Eights in that span, although they never got over the hump to reach the Final Four.

However, they missed the Big Dance in 2019 and again this season, although the latter was because of a self-imposed postseason ban in response to the NCAA's notice of allegations.

As part of the FBI's probe into college basketball recruiting and corruption, Emanuel "Book" Richardson, who was previously on the Wildcats' staff, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes as part of a scheme to convince Arizona players to eventually sign with sports agent Christian Dawkins.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN reported in 2018 that the FBI intercepted conversations between Dawkins and Miller that featured discussions about paying $100,000 to make sure Deandre Ayton joined Arizona.

Ayton eventually played for the Wildcats and was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft.

Miller has denied paying for prospects to join his program.

The program eventually received three Level 1 violations from the NCAA related to the federal investigation, as well as another for the athletics department as a whole for lack of institutional control.

As for the now vacant position, Goodman reported Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire, Los Angeles Lakers assistant Miles Simon, Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner and Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd are potential candidates. Stoudamire, Simon and Pastner are former Arizona players who became Wildcats assistant coaches.

Arizona checks in at No. 23 in the 247Sports' composite rankings for 2021 recruiting classes.