Will Elite Shooting Guard Prospect Tre Johnson Live up to the Hype?

In an exciting 2025 class, Tre Johnson still manages to stand out. What kind of season does he need to have to meet expectations?

Link Academy's Tre Johnson moves the ball downcourt 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 /

The Class of 2025 is an exciting one, headlined by some players who are seemingly already household names – elite prospects like Cooper Flagg (Duke), Ace Bailey (Rutgers), Dylan Harper (Rutgers), Hugo Gonzalez (Spain), and VJ Edgecombe (Baylor) already stand out as potential stars not just at the college or overseas level, but going forward into the Association.

Of course, one can't talk about this group without including arguably the best pure scorer in 2025 in two-guard Tre Johnson, a Texas-bound sharpshooter whose effortless release and innate ability to score the basketball make him one of the most enticing prospects at the top of the class.

Stories of Johnson's on-court achievements, even as early as his sophomore year of high school, made waves in basketball communities across Texas. As he began to make his name in the national scene as well, his performances continued to improve.

His first real magnum opus as a young player came against Richardson High School in 2021, a game in which a 15-year-old Tre Johnson scored 39 points against two elite ball stoppers: guards Cason Wallace (Kentucky, Oklahoma City Thunder) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama, Kansas).

By his senior season, recruiting services unanimously placed Johnson in their top 10 list of overall prep players in '25, with some ranking him as high as fifth overall due to a confluence of attributes. He is a true three-level scorer in every sense of the phrase: he can get his shot from the midrange, he can raise up and hit contested threes off the dribble, and he can get to the basket when attacking off of a live dribble.

Though he's not an explosive athlete who blows by players with a first step, he is still a good athlete who can make things happen with the ball in his hands. At Link Prep (Missouri), where he played his senior season, Johnson was mostly off the ball with Labaron Philon as the lead initiator, yet he excelled in a role that allowed him to both shoot the ball off the catch as well as create his own shot when handling.

Tre Johnson is a really deadly off-ball guard, navigating the defense by using pin-downs and other screens to get himself open. He can also use his handle to create separation, as he has a very effective step-back, especially in the 15-foot range. His pull-up jumpers are accurate, allowing him to score easily in transition.

As far as physical stature goes, Johnson possesses excellent positional size, standing at 6-foot-6 with a wingspan of 7 feet, which is a far cry from Texas' undersized backcourt from last season. At 190 pounds, he's not fully developed physically, and has room to put a bit more on his frame and up his ability to finish through contact.

He comes to Austin and joins a Texas roster that is not short on scoring – Oregon State transfer Jordan Pope and Arkansas transfer Tramon Mark will join him in the backcourt, with Pope as the lead initiator and Mark on the wing.

Playing the two-guard position, Johnson will have plenty of opportunities to do what he does best: score. Assuming Texas plays a 4-out or 5-out offense based on their roster construction, he should have the spacing necessary to create offense for himself while not being the sole focus of the opposing defense.

The last great perimeter scoring option for the Longhorns came through in the year 2007, a player by the name of Kevin Durant. Will Johnson put up gaudy numbers like Durant did in his freshman season?

While you shouldn't expect 26 points per game, you can expect a really entertaining, high-octane offense led by a player with aspirations of NBA stardom. With that background, Johnson may just be the best freshman scorer since the great Number 35.

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