UCI Releases Johannsen From Letter of Intent

Jeff Johannsen, a 6-foot-11 center from Temple City High, has been released from his letter of intent, according to UC Irvine Coach Pat Douglass.

The decision was made by mutual consent, according to Douglass, who was hired last month.

“We talked with his parents and we felt he would have difficulty playing in our system,” Douglass said.

But Johannsen’s mother, Janet Johannsen, said the family had no option. She said Douglass attended an April 5 all-star game to watch her son and the next day informed the family that Johannsen would not fit in at Irvine.

“Jeff played only 10 minutes that night,” Janet Johannsen said. “He [Douglass]called and asked our opinion and we said it wasn’t Jeff’s best game. Coach Douglass told us he felt Jeff was not competitive by what he saw and that Jeff would not be good in the way he was planning to run his program.

“We were shocked. We offered tapes of Jeff and he said he was not interested. We asked if Jeff could come there for a year to prove himself and he said he was not interested.”

Douglass said he did not recall that he was offered tapes by the family.

“I didn’t think he would fit in to what we were going to be doing,” Douglass said. “It was a difficult conversation to tell them my appraisal since I had not recruited him. His scholarship would have been honored and he would have been able to try out for the team.”

Johannsen said she and her husband also talked with Irvine Athletic Director Dan Guerrero before agreeing to the release. Guerrero did not answer a phone message Tuesday night.

Johannsen, who averaged 20.7 points and 10 rebounds for Temple City last season, was given the release by the NCAA last week. He will not lose a year of eligibility.