TUCSON, Ariz. – After helping lead the Arizona men’s basketball program to one of the best seasons in school history in 2014-15, Stanley Johnson has elected to forgo his remaining eligibility and declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.
During Johnson’s lone season at UA, the Wildcats won both the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament championships, earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, advanced to its second-consecutive Elite Eight and won 34 games to rank second on the program’s single-season charts.
Johnson averaged a team-high 13.8 points in his one season at Arizona, also averaging 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game to rank second on the squad. He was one of two freshmen in the major college basketball conferences to average at least 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest, alongside Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.
The Fullerton, Calif., native scored in double figures 30 times on the year, leading the Wildcats in scoring 15 times and posting three double-doubles.
Johnson led Pac-12 freshmen in scoring, steals, free throws made and free throw attempts, ranking sixth overall in the league in steals, 13th in rebound average and 14th in scoring average. On Arizona’s freshman records list, he ranks third in points scored (523) and steals (57), fourth in free throws made (132), fifth in total rebounds (247) and free throw attempts (178), sixth in three-point field goals made (43) and seventh in field goals made (174).
He was recently named the winner of the inaugural Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, at the first-ever ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles.
In March, Johnson became the 28th Arizona player to earn All-America honors when he was a third-team selection by the NABC. He was also named to the five-man USBWA Freshman All-America team, was selected as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was the lone freshman named to the All-Pac-12 first team.
Johnson was also named MVP of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in November, as well as the Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team in March.
In recent years, ESPN ranked Arizona sixth among all college programs in terms of producing top NBA talent over the last two-plus decades.
Over the last 28 years, NBA Draft night has been a night of celebration for members of the Arizona men’s basketball program, as 38 UA players have heard their names called since 1988.
The Wildcats’ 38 selections are tied with Duke and Kentucky for the most in the nation over that span. Kansas has 35 selections and both North Carolina and UCLA have 34 to round out the top five nationally since 1988.
UA players have been far from content by just hearing their names called on draft night, having topped the collective $1 billion mark in career earnings.
Collectively, the Wildcats who have been drafted since 1988 are an accomplished group, having won 13 NBA championships and made six All-Star appearances. The group boasts a Rookie of the Year (Damon Stoudamire), a Sixth Man of the Year (Jason Terry) and a Most Improved Player (Gilbert Arenas).
For the latest updates on Arizona men’s basketball and an inside look at the program, follow @APlayersProgram on Twitter and @uaplayersprogram on Instagram.
