Texas Freshman Tre Johnson on Kevin Durant: 'I Can Be Better'

Texas Longhorns five-star freshman Tre Johnson is bursting with confidence as he begins a highly-anticipated 2024-25 season.

Link Academy's Tre Johnson goes up for a field goal attempt as the Lions took on the Central Bulldogs in The Pit at Central High School on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

AUSTIN -- Tre Johnson has no shortage of confidence as he heads into his freshman season with the Texas Longhorns.

Johnson spoke with the Texas media for the first time Tuesday and carried himself like a pro, one of the many reasons scouts expect him to potentially be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. But it's his effortless scoring ability that has Texas fans drooling, a trait that's often resulted in him receiving some Kevin Durant comparisons ahead of his first season in Austin.

Texas Longhorns on SI asked Johnson if he's aware of these Durant comparisons and what his thoughts are on them.

"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."

It became clear as his conversation with the media went on that being his own player instead of compared to the best scorer in Texas basketball history is something he feels to his core.

"Can you be as good as Kevin Durant someday?" Johnson was asked.

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

Though Johnson said this a bit tongue-in-cheek, the quickness with which he said it shows that he's certainly not something that's unrealistic in his eyes.

This type of killer mindset is probably exactly why a player as highly-touted as Durant connected with Johnson before making his commitment to Texas.

"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.”

Johnson and the Longhorns will tip off the 2024-25 season under the bright lights of Las Vegas against Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Series on Monday, Nov. 4.