Myles Announcing Friday

Shelby65

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2008
8,357
4,650
66
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

All-Conference
Dec 22, 2008
4,609
2,535
0
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.
 

zebnatto

All-Conference
May 7, 2008
5,071
3,818
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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

All-Conference
Feb 5, 2003
4,751
4,669
113
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!!!
 

patk89

All-Conference
Jul 25, 2001
6,319
2,447
78
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

Heisman
Dec 1, 2006
19,270
13,695
0
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".
 
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KNICKI

Senior
Aug 14, 2006
574
438
32
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

Heisman
Oct 29, 2001
23,622
10,214
113
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

Heisman
Dec 1, 2006
19,270
13,695
0
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.
 
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Shelby65

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2008
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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.
 
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RUChoppin

Heisman
Dec 1, 2006
19,270
13,695
0
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

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
23,009
0
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

All-American
Aug 5, 2004
23,385
7,924
0
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.
 
Oct 19, 2010
207,472
28,752
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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

All-Conference
Apr 1, 2008
8,357
4,650
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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.
 

Rokodesh

Heisman
Aug 30, 2007
16,000
13,100
73
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
 

Mr. Magoo1

Heisman
Nov 15, 2001
15,459
16,305
113
I knew it. Also tells me it wasn’t about the degree as much as we thought. He really wanted out.
 

bitnez

All-American
Jan 18, 2006
6,445
7,075
113
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.
 

dpwhite

All-American
Jan 21, 2003
2,948
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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.
 
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Ru-baby

All-Conference
Aug 11, 2001
6,659
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Closer to family and being in the LBC he probably always thought of UCLA. That being said, Stanford is the clear choice.
 

RU MAN

Heisman
Oct 29, 2001
23,622
10,214
113
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

All-Conference
Dec 16, 2013
2,281
4,906
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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.
 

BillyC80

Heisman
Oct 23, 2006
17,084
15,472
72
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.