UWM guard Jordan Johnson transferring to UNLV

Coach LaVall Jordan's rebuilding job at UW-Milwaukee became even tougher on Wednesday, as point guard Jordan Johnson announced he was transferring to UNLV.

Johnson broke the news on his Twitter account, and UNLV's basketball account also tweeted out a welcome to the senior-to-be. A source at UWM confirmed Johnson informed a staff member of his intention to transfer late Tuesday.

Johnson becomes the second UWM expatriate to move to UNLV this month; former Panthers coach Rob Jeter was hired as an assistant to coach Marvin Menzies on May 5.

A junior-college transfer, Johnson averaged 12.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 33 games for UWM last season. His 8.1 assists ranked second in the nation.

He'll be required to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules and then have one year of eligibility remaining in 2017-'18.

Johnson was one of four UWM players to request and receive their releases from UWM in the wake of Jeter's firing in March. Akeem Springs (Minnesota) and Austin Arians (Wake Forest) announced their intention to transfer in April, although Springs' departure is contingent on him passing four courses in summer school at UWM.

Cody Wichmann plans to remain at UWM, and he will be the Panthers' leading returning scorer next season at 4.8 points per game.

UWM signed Danish combination guard August Haas last week.