Breaking down Top-10 2024 Tre Johnson's commitment to Texas

November 15, 2023 by Max Feldman

THE LEAD

Tre Johnson, the 7th overall prospect in 2024, has committed to Texas. Rodney Terry and the Longhorns beat out Baylor for the highly touted in-state product.

BACKGROUND

Johnson has been viewed as a premier prospect in the national class since the early stages of his high school career at Lake Highlands (TX). Johson's father, Richard, played at Baylor in his college career. Over the years, he's starred on the EYBL with Team Griffin and closed with Houston Hoops. This spring and summer, he put up 18.7, 3.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds on 39 - 32 - 80 shooting splits. Johnson will finish his high school career at national power Link Academy (MO).

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Longhorns battled this one out after originally offering the Garland, Texas native in the summer of 2021. Since, Baylor always seemed to have a leg up. Between their success with off-guards in a similar archetype and the family ties, all signs pointed towards Scott Drew and the Bears once again sealing the deal with one of the nation's top scorers. But now, the in-state product joins Top-50 prospects Nic Codie and Cam Scott en route to Austin. Look for the Horns focus to quickly turn towards 2025, as it is specifically a fantastic class in-state. No. 11 Kingston Flemings, No. 17 Hudson Greer, No. 21 Nigel Walls, No. 28 Shelton Henderson and No. 42 Sebastian Williams-Adams are just a few to look out for.

MY TAKE

The coaching change in Austin hasn't slowed the recruiting momentum in the slightest, and beating out Scott Drew and company for Johnson is the latest proof. On the court, the fit with Baylor was certainly easier to place. From Keyonte George to JaKobe Walter, slotting in Johnson as their next prolific off-guard was a smooth sell. Undoubtedly the biggest recruiting win for Terry in his short tenure as the head coach, but know it'll be about bringing the best out of the 6-6 guard in his first and likely lone collegiate season. The first evaluation from many scouts at the highest level have drawn intrigue, touting his shooting touch, physical upside and overall fluidity as an athlete. But as the sample size has grown, which correlates with our evaluation of Johnson and his drop to 7th in the class, many of the warts have remained. No one in the class has shown the same ability to takeover games and score in bunches to the degree of Johnson, but the other end of the spectrum produces some highly inefficient outings. However, he could be in for a very nice season at Link Academy, now complemented by a pair of high level guards in Labaron Philon and Jasper Johnson. Coming in and slotting in next to a then-senior guard and leader like Tyrese Hunter would be pivotal to his Johnson's immediate success in Austin.

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