Nov. 17, 1997

Kris Johnson, 6-4 senior forward/guard, has been partially reinstated to the UCLA men's basketball team, director of athletics Peter T. Dalis announced today. The status of 6-9 1/2 junior center Jelani McCoy remains unchanged.

The two players were suspended for violation of athletic department policies and team rules on September 29. They have misses a month of practice, which began October 18.

Johnson, who met all criteria required for reinstatement, will be allowed to practice and other team functions, effective immediately. He has not yet been reinstated for games. That decision will be made at a later date.

McCoy did not meet all criteria necessary for reinstatement and remains suspended. His situation will be reassessed at a later date.

"Kris made a mistake but he has been diligent in completing the tasks necessary for reinstatement to practise," said head coach Steve Lavin. "I'm sure he has learned a lesson from this situation that will help him throughout the rest of his life. He has worked hard and appears to be in outstanding shape. It will be great to have him back at practice and we'll worry about when he can play in games at a later date."

"Jelani has also made progress, but not enough for reinstatement. i know he wants to be a member of the team again and he knows what he has to do to accomplish that goal. We will continue to support both of these young men because they are members of our basketball family."

Both players had key roles for last year's team which won a third straight Pacific-10 championship and reached the NCAA Elite Eight, finishing with a 24-8 record. Johnson played in 31 of 32 games despite being bothered by a nagging ankle injury, primarily as the Bruin's valuable sixth men. He averaged 10.3 points and 3.0 rebounds and led the Pac-10 in free throw percentage (.833). As a healthy sophomore, he started 21 of 31 games and averaged 12/5 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting .569 on his field goal attempts.

MCCoy started 28 of 32 games in 1996-7 and set a Pac-109 record by shooting .756 from the field (he would have led the nation in this category but was eight field goals shy of qualifying for the NCAA stats). He averaged 10.9 points and 6.5 rebounds while locking 61 shot. As a freshman in 1995-6, he averaged 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting .676 from the floor and setting a school record with 102 blocked shots. His career shooting percentage of .716 is both a Pac-10 and UCLA record.

Steve Lavin and Kris Johnson will be available for interviews after practice. Practice is closed, but the interviews should take place between 5:30 - 6:00 on the floor of Pauley Pavilion