Former Cat Johnny Juzang hoping for another Final Four trip

Johnny Juzang leads UCLA in scoring this season. (UCLA Athletics Photo)

A year ago, UCLA made a surprise run to the Final Four and it was former Kentucky guard, Johnny Juzang, who helped provide a spark for the Bruins. The magical trek through a bubble in Indianapolis came to an end with a 93-90 overtime loss to eventual national runner-up Gonzaga. The team’s roster from last year is virtually intact, with Juzang among the Bruins’ top players and he’s embracing a “different experience” in this year’s tournament.

“The dynamic of the games is a little different,” he said on Thursday, ahead of UCLA’s East Regional semifinal contest against North Carolina tonight. “This year we need to be sharp, play our best, handle business, and I would just say the pressures are a little bit different. You’re dealing with maybe more pressure, the favorites a lot more games this year.

“So just staying sharp and still — even if you are a higher seed, still being the hunter, playing like the hunter and coming out aggressive and trying to throw the first punch.”

The Bruins (27-7) were runner-up to top-seeded Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament and earned a spot in the Sweet 16 following wins over Akron (57-53) and St. Mary’s (72-56) in the first two rounds of the tournament. Juzang averaged 11.5 points in the two victories and leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg.) this season.

Juzang credited the team’s chemistry and “support for one another” as one of the reasons the Bruins are still in contention to make a second straight trip to the Final Four.

“You can feel it, and honestly I think it’s just gone a little bit more – not that we weren’t together before – but to another level when it comes to tournament time,” he said. “You can feel all the touches, talking about this, talking about that, whatever. Great job on this, great job on that, look for this, look for that. You can feel the cohesion come even tighter.”

In order to be successful in the tournament, Juzang said playing together as a team is “what you need to win.” The Bruins displayed those traits in a narrow four-point win over Akron in the tournament opener.

“One of the biggest things is who is the most together because there’s going to be trying times,” he said. “Every team, especially at this point, is great, so it’s not whether or not there will be challenges, there will be, and there will be those moments in the game where things aren’t going your way for certain. So the team that’s really, really together can come out of that. I think it’s great.”

Juzang admitted UCLA’s recent success in the tournament has provided a roadmap to success this time around.

“It’s a new game, different opponent, different scouting, so I think it’s good for momentum,” he said. “But otherwise you’ve got to strap back in, lock back in, and come ready to fight for the next game. You’ve still got to stay focused, but yeah, the momentum, I think it helps a little bit.”

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Keith Taylor is the sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at Keith.taylor@kentuckytodaycom and via Twitter at keithtaylor21.