1/24/2021 basketball Edit

It's time to talk about Myles Johnson as one of the best centers in the B1G

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

Usually the questions for Rutgers men's basketball center Myles Johnson after a Big Ten game are about what was it like guarding this guy or playing against so-and-so.

That continued on Sunday after the Scarlet Knights defeated Indiana and Trayce Jackson-Davis, 74-70, in Bloomington at Assembly Hall.

Nobody really talks about Johnson in that way the other way around, and if it happens, it's once or twice.

That needs to change and become the norm.

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There are a lot of good players, especially centers and post players, in the Big Ten, which is widely regarded as the top conference in the country.

From Iowa's Luka Garza, to Illinois' Kofi Cockburn, to Indiana's Jackson-Davis, to Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter of Wisconsin, to Trevion Williams of Purdue, to Michigan's Hunter Dickson, to Minnesota's Liam Robbins, to E.J. Liddell of Ohio State, there's just about standout or two on every team.

Even last year, you had players and future pros in the likes of Maryland's Jalen Smith, Ohio State's Kaleb Wesson, Penn State's Mike Watkins, Minnesota's Daniel Oturu, Michigan's State's Xavier Tillman, and Michigan's John Teske, to name a few.

But Johnson still doesn't get the respect the others get.

Maybe it's because he is isn't as athletic as some of the aforementioned players, or he doesn't score 20 points per game, or he isn't going to be a NBA Draft pick, but Johnson can surely stop any one of them and hold under their averages, like he did against Jackson-Davis. The 6-foot-9, 245-pounder, who averages over 20 points and eight rebounds was held to just 13 points and seven boards on just 4-of-10 shooting from the floor in 32:33.

Meanwhile, Johnson tallied eight points, making all four of hits layups and dunks, with eight rebounds, while tying his career-highs of five blocks and three steals.

"We spent a lot of time scouting him. He's a projected First Team All-Big Ten and what not," Johnson said. "In order to win this game, I had to stop him."

The 6-foot-11, 255-pound redshirt junior also clinched the game with an offensive rebound with a few seconds to go, which he passed back out.

"I will say this, Myles Johnson is one of the best interior defenders in the country," Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "I have been saying that since he was a young guy. ...I think early in the game it takes a while to get used to, playing against a guy like him because its not easy. As the game went on, you can tell how he impacted the game with his defensive plays. Trayce didn't get as many clean ones. You couldn't get it to him as much. It is a by-product of their team in general. Defensively, they are always known for their stickiness, but he definitely impacts the game on a defensive front. Obviously, we play them later in the year, and we have to do a better job at getting him established like we do in every game. This wasn't one (Jackson-Davis') best offensive performances, and you have to give Rutgers credit for that."

Added Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell: "I thought Miyles did an unbelievable job, Trayce Jackson-Davis, one of the best players in players in the country averages 20 points a game and he's had 30s in games, did a really good job on him as best as you can do. Myles stepped up."

When Rutgers battled with Iowa earlier this year, Garza had his 25 points in 36 minutes, but he had just four rebounds, his second-lowest of the season. He had three against Iowa State, but he only played in 17 minutes that game in a blowout.

Cockburn was held to his lowest field goal percentage against Big Ten foes this season at 50 percent when Johnson and Rutgers played the Illini.

For the season, Johnson is fifth in the Big Ten with 8.6 rebounds per game, 120 total, and 42 on the offensive end. Johnson is also second in blocked shots (2.2) and eighth in the league in steals (1.4), the best among bigs.

His field goal percentage is up to 61.3 percent, his rebounding numbers are up from last year, he has more steals already than he did a year ago, and he already has more blocks than he recorded two seasons ago in 18 less games so far.

Johnson's 16 rebounds against Maryland are second only to Jackson-Davis against Florida State and Garza against Minnesota when they both had 17. Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds against Illinois and 12 against Syracuse as well.

The Long Beach, Ca. native tallied five steals, too against Hofstra and four against Fairleigh Dickinson.

"He has unbelievable instincts in stealing the ball as a big guy; around the shoulders of the post guys, elbow catches, deflected passes," Miller said. "He has quick hands and unbelievable length. The thing is he does a great job at doing it. He can stay between you and the basket with his size, but he also has unbelievable timing when he blocks shots."

Basketball aside, Johnson, a product of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, is majoring in Electrical & Computer Engineering. He is a two-time Big Ten All-Academic honoree (2019-20 and 2018-19) and was named to NABC Honors Court in 2020. Johnson has also established BLKdev, an initiative to inspire minority youths to participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and has attended of rallies to promote social justice.

Recently, Johnson announced on Twitter that he's now a Firmware Development Intern for IBM.

There's nothing Johnson cannot do.

Whether you want to call him "Myles the Monster" or "Myles the Engineer", Johnson is the one of the best the Big Ten has to offer.