Tre Johnson is already a proven must-watch player as Texas hosts Chicago State

If you live in Austin and like basketball, head out to the Moody Center during non-conference play. It will be worth it, I promise, and the reason is Tre Johnson.

It’s true, a look at the non-conference home schedule for the Texas Longhorns is extremely uninspiring.

Houston Christian, Chicago State, Mississippi Valley State, Delaware State, New Mexico State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, New Orleans, Northwestern State.

Most of those state schools aren’t even actual states.

Sure, there is a trip to the Moody Center from UConn in early December, the lone marquee non-conference game that happens to come against the nation’s No. 3 team and reigning back-to-back national champions, but what reason is there to spend those other evenings on the Forty Acres watching some hoops?

How about freshman phenom guard Tre Johnson, who broke Kevin Durant’s team record for points in a collegiate debut by dropping 29 points in last week’s loss to Ohio State and then scored 28 points in Friday’s win over Houston Christian?

The Garland native and Baylor legacy will surely have a poor performance or two at Texas before becoming a top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — even KD had a few inefficient performances, though he always broke into double digits — but based on the early indications, Johnson has absolutely lived up to the hype surrounding his ranking as the No. 5 player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports, and the lofty comparisons to Durant made by Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry.

Through two games, Johnson is serving notice that he’s a must-watch player for the burnt orange and white faithful, hitting 10-of-18 three-pointers (55.8 percent), showing a lethal stroke in catch-and-shoot situations, including well beyond the arc trailing in transition, and looking dangerous off the bounce.

Watch the poise here from Johnson in transition after a block by forward Kadin Shedrick — he slows his tempo because the Huskies are back behind the ball, looks off a defender by glancing towards the wing, and that’s enough to step into an easy three he can knock down at an extremely high rate.

If opponents are willing to let him walk into a three, he will take it and he will make it.

The 6’6, 190-pounder is a bit of a throwback as a true three-level scorer who can also work the mid range, again with ability off the catch, particularly on in-bounds passes, and a refined middy off the bounce.

On out-of-bounds plays, Texas clearly spent the offseason building their approach on running Johnson off screens to get him clean looks like his first made three for the Horns.

As opponents prepare for the Longhorns, they will have to spend time determining how to defend those sets. By some point in conference play, if not sooner, teams will be able to limit Johnson’s easy catch-and-shoot opportunities by scouting those plays and figuring out how to switch when necessary, but when that happens Texas will be able to hit some counters from those defensive adjustments that should also produce some high-percentage looks.

In other words, because Johnson shoots such a high percentage and has the height to make it difficult for opponents to contest his shots, the Longhorns have the ability to score a handful of buckets on out-of-bounds plays in every game, which could provide the difference in several key matchups this year.

The strength that Johnson has gained since arriving on the Forty Acres has helped him get to the rim and finish through contact — he already had the ability to score with both hands because he’s just that type of scorer.

But while Johnson arrived in Austin known as arguably the best pure scorer in the 2024 class, it’s his all-around game that has perhaps impressed the most.

Some of the impetus behind Johnson’s move from Lake Highlands to Link Academy in Branson, Mo. for his senior season was his desire to play with and against a higher level of competition like teaming up with point guard LaBaron Philon, the No. 34 prospect in the 2024 class who signed with Alabama.

The payoff was evident in Johnson’s debut with a strong decision in transition, this time to set up forward Arthur Kaluma for a layup — Ohio State was able to slow Johnson by recovering on defense, forcing Johnson to use the threat of a pass to the wing to set up his pocket pass into Kaluma for the three-point play. The sense of pace, poise, and delivery were all remarkable for such a young player.

Sometimes it’s just about making simple plays, like finding the corner shooter when the defense helps off on a drive.

Johnson’s shooting stroke is a thing of beauty, but those flashes of his composure and strong decision-making on the ball have resulted in seven assists and only two turnovers, impressive numbers — his assist rate of 22.2 percent is the tied for the best on the team with fifth-year senior Julian Larry and his turnover rate of 6.0 percent is incredible for a player with a high usage rate of 28.3 percent and lower even than Shedrick’s turnover rate on a usage rate of 16.7 percent.

Sample size caveats apply here, but Johnson’s talent is so obviously transcendent that everything he’s done through two games seems largely sustainable.

And if Durant arrived at Texas believing that playing defense was scoring more points than the guy guarding you, Johnson doesn’t have any evidence of that mentality, using his length and anticipation to impact ball handlers and passing lanes with three steals.

In the margins, Johnson’s refinement is a testament to his work ethic, an area where the comparisons to Durant are so apt.

Texas plays 18 home games this season with one already in the books, leaving 17 more opportunities to see Johnson play at the Moody Center. Every single one of those games is worth seeing because of Johnson, one of the best NBA prospects to ever wear “Texas” on his chest. But he’s not just a big-time NBA prospect like Jarrett Allen or Mo Bamba were based on their upside — Johnson is a star right now.

What do you need to know about the Cougars? Well, again, Chicago is not a state, nor is Chicago State good at basketball. Let’s just say they’re ranked No. 332 nationally in BartTorvik.com’s adjusted efficiency metric and have a one-percent win probability.

Texas tips off against Chicago State at 7 p.m. Central on Tuesday on SEC Network+ and all you really need to know about the game is that it’s one of 18 chances to see Tre Johnson ball out in the Mood.