The 2023-24 season, which on the surface appears to be a memorable farewell to the Big 12, has just concluded, but all eyes are on Texas men's basketball head coach Rodney Terry as he enters his second year on the job.
As it stands, the team is short on alphas. Leading scorers Dylan Disu and Max Abmas are gone. Rising senior Tyrese Hunter is headed to Memphis, and rising junior Dillon Mitchell appears ready for the NBA or a school far away from Austin.
To his credit, Terry has been proactive, acquiring Julian Lary and Jason Kent to Indiana State, as well as the previous transfers of Tramon Mark, a microwave wing from Arkansas. received the greatest reinforcement. It appears the Longhorns aren't done with that entrance just yet, with Oregon State's Jordan Pope set to play on Wednesday, and Oklahoma State center Brandon Garrison and Air Force forward Laitis Petraitis both committed to Texas. Involved.
After all the addition and subtraction, the Longhorns still lack star power. But they may have found it in freshman Tre Johnson. He's only 18 years old and could be tasked with making Texas basketball a standout force in the SEC.
Johnson comes in as a consensus five-star recruit and is arguably Terry's biggest addition recruiting-wise. The Dallas, Texas, native was a three-year star at Lake Highlands High School, leading his school to a state championship and earning Texas Mr. Basketball honors before transferring to Link Academy in Missouri. I am now a 4th year student.
“It's in my mind that he could step into Texas and help lead them to a good seed in the NCAA Tournament and possibly the SEC Championship,” Link Academy head coach Bill Armstrong said. There's no doubt about it.” “Tre is a guy who can go into a tournament and win two or three games by himself. He's that talented.”
Link Academy quickly became a powerhouse in the nation's high school basketball world just three years after the program began, winning the 2023 Boys' GEICO National Championship. They boast professional pedigree with current NBA rookies Julian Phillips and Jordan Walsh. A third is planned for Linc Academy product and projected 2024 first-round pick Jacoby Walter from Baylor.
Attending a prestigious prep school to further his basketball career was an obvious choice, but Johnson was not without his father, Richard Johnson Jr., an assistant coach at Lake Highlands and lifelong mentor. It probably wasn't an easy choice, since it didn't happen.
“I think there was definitely some adjustment,” Armstrong said. “But I think it was the best decision for Tre's basketball career. There's no better way to put it.”
As a player, Johnson has shown potential to be SEC Freshman of the Year as a big winger and facilitator with genius scoring ability, knockdown shooting, and off-the-ball game development. I'm letting you do it. Armstrong looked back on a recent double-overtime win against Prolific Prep in which Johnson stepped up as a playmaker despite his lack of shots.
“I give him full credit. He came up to me at halftime and was like, 'I can't get free off the ball, let me play the point.' [guard], I read it correctly, once I get off the ball screen, they're going to put two on me,'' Armstrong said. “That's what we did in the second half, and it ended up paying off for us. He had nine assists in that game, which is a career high, at least in the rink.”
Johnson's career at Texas may be short. Johnson has long been considered a blue-chip prospect in the NBA, and was selected No. 8 overall in ESPN's 2025 NBA Mock Draft. But it's not hard to imagine him immediately stepping in as the starter and possibly the Longhorns' leading scorer heading into the program's pivotal 2025 season.
“You won't find anyone more hardworking and dedicated to basketball success than him.”
Armstrong said. “From everything I know, everything I hear and everything I can tell from my conversations with him, he was fully committed from day one when he made the decision to go to Texas.”