Johnny Juzang

Matthew Barrero

Following the official introduction to new head coach Darvin Ham, the Lakers welcomed six more prospects for a draft workout; their sixth of the offseason.

- Remy Martin (Kansas)
- Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
- Jermaine Samuels (Villanova)
- Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech)
- Haowen Guo (Shanghai Sharks)
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech)

Juzang and Lofton Jr. spoke with the media following the workout and both emphasized the importance of working on their individual games and showcasing the other talents on the court.

“You got to get that flow going,” Juzang said. “Encourage each other and build the confidence. The process has been great because you’re traveling around the country, playing basketball, and competing.”

Juzang played one season at Kentucky (2019-20) before transferring to UCLA prior to the 2020-21 season. He grew up in Los Angeles and played high school ball at Harvard-Westlake in nearby Studio City.

During his sophomore season, he averaged 16.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. The 6’7 guard was at the forefront of the college basketball world during UCLA’s NCAA Tournament run in April 2021 where he led the Bruins from the First Four to the Final Four.

Juzang became the third player in UCLA history to score at least 20 points in their first two NCAA Tournament games, joining Reggie Miller and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor) and became the first player since Oscar Robertson (1960) to score at least half of his team’s points in a regional finals win.

In six tournament games, Juzang averaged 22.8 points and was named to the 2021 All-Tournament Team. His 137 total points were the second-most by a UCLA player in the tournament behind only Gail Goodrich’s 140 points in 1965.

Despite playing for a smaller school, Kenneth Lofton Jr. (no relation to former MLB and Los Angeles Dodgers player Kenny Lofton) earned equally high recognition particularly for his performance against NC State in November 2021.

Lofton Jr. scored a career-high 36 points (most by a LA Tech player since 2016) on 14-of-19 shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds on top of it.

“I went out there and played my game,” Lofton Jr. noted. “It was a great game for me, and I did put myself on the map, but it doesn’t mean too much because we didn’t get the win. Today was a great workout and I feel pretty great overall.”

In just two seasons playing for the Bulldogs, the 6’7 power forward was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year and earned Third-Team All-C-USA honors (2021) and was named to the First-Team All-Conference USA this past season.

During the summer following his freshman season, Lofton Jr. represented the United States at the 2021 FIBA U-19 World Cup in Latvia, where he averaged 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds and helped team USA win the gold medal.

Johnny Juzang

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