Tre Johnson Takes Over SEC Media Days for Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns freshman Tre Johnson helped represent the program at SEC Media Days.

Oct 15, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- What can't Tre Johnson do?

The Texas Longhorns freshman guard showed off his versatility at SEC Media Days in Birmingham, AL. on Tuesday while being joined by forward Kadin Shedrick and head coach Rodney Terry. During Terry's media availability at the podium, Johnson showed off his journalistic abilities by taking the mic and asking his head coach a question.

"What's up, coach? I was just wanting to ask you, what do you think the best thing about our team this year is?" Johnson asked.

"Wow, that's a great one Tre," Terry said with a smile. "Great question for a freshmen, too. How about that? I tell you what I think the best thing about this group that we put together is, I think that these guys all really like each other. ... I think they're all super competitive, and I'm excited about our journey. And we got a long ways to go, but I really like this group a lot."

.@iamtrejohnson1 stole media day 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/Y4oKWiMCyh

— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) October 16, 2024

While Johnson's open-ended question elicited a detailed response from his head coach, he's got bigger things ahead than just being a reporter.

The only true freshman in attendance at SEC Media Days, Johnson is one of hottest topics surrounding Texas men's basketball headed into the season. A projected lottery pick and potential freshman of the year in the SEC, Johnson received his typical Kevin Durant comparisons from Terry, but it was the way he talked about his personal expectations that stood out.

“Everything I’ve been working towards, probably going down as one of the greatest basketball players ever,” Johnson told reporters at SEC Media Day, per On3's James Fletcher III. “I want to be one of the best to ever touch a basketball.”

The comparisons between Johnson and Durant have been happening ever since he committed and signed with Texas on Nov. 15. He talked about it while meeting with the local Austin media for the first time on Sept. 24, but the topic came alive Tuesday in Birmingham when Terry brought it up once again.

"I got a chance to coach Kevin Durant for one year at Texas, and he and Kevin have a lot of things that kind of come from the same cloth, in terms of incredible work ethic," Terry said. "A guy that we have to literally push him out of the gym. He's in the gym 24/7, much like Kevin was, and he's a super competitive kid, you put the scoreboard on, and he's competing at another level in terms of really wanting to win and compete at a very high level. So he's a guy that we're counting on this year to have a big year and do big things in Austin."

More importantly, though, Terry made it clear that Johnson deserved to represent the program at SEC Media Days because of what he brings to the team's culture, even as a true freshman.

"He's a guy that's deserving of being here today," Terry said. "He's an extremely talented player. He's a top five player in the country last year in his class, he's been the best player in his class in the state of Texas his entire career. He's a guy that we think fits our culture at a very high level, in terms of what he brings to the table, super competitive, a kid that wants to get better every day. He's proud of being from the state of Texas and representing Texas at the flagship program, and he's a super competitor."

The Longhorns will have closed scrimmages against TCU on Oct. 19 in San Antonio and against Colorado on Oct. 27 at the Moody Center. Both scrimmages are closed off to the public.

Johnson will officially make his Longhorns debut in front of fans when No. 19 Texas begins the regular season against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Las Vegas on Monday, Nov. 4.