Texas basketball recruit Tre Johnson, a McDonald's All-American, looking forward to next season

Texas recruit Tre Johnson, the latest in an increasingly long line of McDonald’s All-Americans to sign with the Longhorns, met with the media on Monday to talk about Tuesday’s all-star game as well as his future in Austin.

And much to the relief of Texas fans, he used the phrase “next year’ often when referring to the Longhorns.

Johnson’s expected arrival in the summer will come with a sigh of relief from Texas coach Rodney Terry as well as the burnt-orange faithful. The 6-foot-6 guard from the Dallas area, a 5-star recruit, would have been the top-ranked recruit for the 2024 class in Texas but played his senior season at Link Academy in Missouri. He’s ranked by 247Sports' composite ratings as the No. 6 overall prospect for his class in the nation.

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Based on his complimentary words for Terry and the coaching staff, Johnson sounds ready to step into the rotation for Texas. And what stands out about Terry, especially after Terry took over for the fired Chris Beard during the 2022-23 season?

“Just his leadership overall,” Johnson said. “I saw different things when the coaching changed. Coach Terry, the leadership overall, he got the guys on the same page in a short period of time. And he also made a deep run in the tournament. That meant a lot to me knowing that he can adapt to change and also take leadership when times get rough and tough.”

Terry has roots that reach deep with Johnson, which helped lure Johnson away from schools like Baylor, Kansas and Kentucky. Terry was an assistant coach when Johnson’s father, Richard Johnson, played at Baylor, and the Longhorns first offered the star recruit a scholarship in December 2021.

More:Now what for Texas basketball? With portal open, Longhorns are ready to rebuild the roster

As a junior in 2022-23, Johnson averaged 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while leading Lake Highlands to a 34-3 record and the Class 6A state championship. He converted 53% from the floor a year ago, including 42% from 3-point range, and he hit 91% from the free-throw line.

This past season at Link Academy, Johnson earned the 2023-24 Missouri MaxPreps Player of the Year award after leading the Lions to a 25-6 record against other prep powerhouses. For the season, he averaged 15.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest while shoot nearly 40% from 3-point range and 90.5% from the free throw line.

Johnson will join a class of recruits that includes another pair of top-75 national prospects, 6-foot-5 guard Cam Scott and 6-8 forward Nic Codie, both of whom signed with Texas in November.

But will Johnson actually join Texas? Last season, the Longhorns lost two 5-star recruits in Ron Holland and AJ Johnson to the professional ranks. However, the NBA in March announced the disbanding of the G League Ignite, the league’s pilot program meant to develop elite high-school players while offering them a professional salary. With the rise of NIL money in college athletics as well as the removal of a domestic professional option, more blue-chip recruits like Johnson are expected to play at least one season in college before exploring their NBA options.

Also, an official with the Longhorns expressed unwavering confidence in an off-the-record conversation prior to the NCAA Tournament that Johnson will spend at least one season at Texas.

And as Johnson pointed out in Monday’s interview with various media outlets, he plans on developing his game at Texas while helping the Longhorns reach a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament and win at least one tournament game for a fourth consecutive season. He’s a natural shooting guard with great length who can score at all three levels, but he said he’s also looking forward to maximizing his potential at Texas.

“I’d like to improve on my rebounding,” he said. “Overall, that's one thing I really harp on myself, improving on offensive and defensive rebounding. I’d like to sharpen up my decision-making and also my defense, just the things without the ball in my hands. I really want to focus on using my shot-making as a thing that helps me get others open. And I've been working on my defense (because) being able play on both sides of the ball is going to be big for me next year at Texas.”

Johnson is the 24th player to sign a letter of intent with the UT men's program and get selected to the McDonald's All-American Game. That list includes Holland, a forward in the 2023 class who signed to play at Texas but never enrolled in order to purse professional options last summer.

Forward Dillon Mitchell of the 2022 class is the only McDonald’s All-American currently on the Texas roster.

47th annual McDonald’s All-American Game

Tuesday, 8 p.m., Houston’s Toyota Center, ESPN