Everything Tre Johnson Said in First Conversation With Texas Media

Texas Longhorns five-star freshman Tre Johnson is gearing up for his first season in Austin.

Rodney Terry (left) and Tre Johnson / Texas Athletics

AUSTIN -- Highly-touted Texas Longhorns five-star freshman Tre Johnson met with the media for the first time on Tuesday and spoke for nearly 15 minutes about his offseason, the year ahead and his game as a whole.

Here's what he had to say:

On the Kevin Durant comparisons:

"I hear them, but it still doesn't mean too much for me because he had his time here and I got my time here," Johnson said. "So we both have different outcomes of the game, just trying to win overall with the team."

On deciding between Texas and Baylor:

"(My parents) didn't care where I went, as long as I was happy," Johnson said. "(My dad) didn't really care, even though he went to Baylor for a period of time."

On being an overworker:

"I have a bad habit of overworking," Johnson said. "Last year at Link (Academy), I got hurt before the season, overworking. And when I got here, I got a little growing thing from overworking so really just knowing and balancing of when working it out. So now I'm starting to amp back up a little bit. Probably get too worked out, still getting in with Warren (Young) and working on my body, and still lifting and stuff like that, staying in shape."

On who gives him the most trouble on defense:

"I'll probably say either Chendall (Weaver) or Julian (Larry)," Johnson said. "They're both small, they're both tough, both quick. ... It's been good going up against Tramon (Mark) because he started out at Houston, so he's played some type of defense. Always been good going against somebody like that, competitive like myself."

On Texas guard Chendall Weaver:

"(Rodney Terry) tells me every day, if I play as hard as Chendall, I could be an All-Star in the league," Johnson said. "We're not even talking about college no more. If I can play as hard as him every play, every day, I can be a great player in the NBA. ... If I play as hard as Chendall, I'll be alright."

On blocking out the noise about being "one-and-done":

"It's not hard," Johnson said "I just say, don't pay attention to it. Some people crave it. Some people look at it every day. I just stay in the gym. Stay off (my) phone."

On his chances of heading to the NBA after one year at Texas:

"It's a chance, but I don't have a problem doing two (years)," Johnson said. "If it doesn't go as well, I'm not a guy that's gonna force it and go to the NBA. I don't mind coming back."

On his conversation with Kevin Durant before committing:

"I talked to Kevin Durant a little bit about it before I committed," Johnson said. " ... He just said go where my heart was at. He said he enjoyed his time here, just the connections he made off the court. So he thought it was gonna be a good place, too.”

When asked if he can be as good as Kevin Durant one day:

"I can be better," Johnson said with a smile.

On if he's a "bad loser":

"I am. I gotta work on that, that's what I'm trying to work on," Johnson said. "Me and RT been working on it, staying stone-faced. But I hate losing."

On seeing the lack of Final Four appearances hanging up in the Texas practice facility:

"It motivates me a lot. I look at it almost every day I come in here. So it motivates me a lot," Johnson said.

On the transfer portal additions of Jordan Pope and Julian Larry:

"I really didn't know Julian, and I heard of Jordan a little bit once when he was in high school, but when they committed, watching film on them and seeing that these guys are actual players. People really don't know, because Julian and Jayson (Kent) came from Indiana State, but they were some of the best players in the portal, and it's just big and good pieces that we have with us."

On if he plays video games:

"Not really, because I'm a really competitive guy. If I'm starting something, I got to be good at it, and video games take a lot of time away from the gym," Johnson said.