Johnny Juzang pulled his teammates tight, arms around each other’s shoulders, no one wanting to budge. There were no tears, only words of appreciation in the midcourt huddle for this UCLA team and what it had improbably achieved, advancing from the First Four to the Final Four before losing to Gonzaga on a miracle shot at the end of overtime.
Over the next three months, some Bruins fans feared it might have been Juzang’s final act in college.
The sophomore shooting guard had shot his way up NBA draft boards with a breakthrough scoring spree in the NCAA tournament, eventually cracking the first round in some mock drafts.