LIVE REPORT: Tre Johnson Continues to Dominate for Texas, Eyes Historic Freshman Season
Tre Johnson has once again made headlines, securing Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors for the fourth time this season. The Texas guard delivered a stellar performance last week, averaging 28.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in matchups against Alabama and Kentucky.
It’s no exaggeration to say that without Johnson, the Longhorns would be nowhere near the NCAA Tournament bubble. Standing at 6-foot-6, he is a scoring threat from anywhere on the floor and leads Texas in several key statistical categories:
- Minutes per game: 33.3
- Field goals made per game: 6.9
- Field goals attempted per game: 15.7
- Free throw percentage: 87.6
With an SEC-leading 19.8 points per game, Johnson is outscoring national player of the year candidates like Auburn’s Johni Broome and Alabama’s Mark Sears by a full 1.5 points. He has already tallied 475 points in 24 games, and if he maintains this scoring pace over the remaining five regular-season games, he will enter the SEC Tournament with 574 points.
The Longhorns have a storied history of phenomenal freshman seasons, but where does Johnson’s 2024-25 campaign rank among Texas’ greatest one-and-done players ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft?
The undisputed No. 1 remains Kevin Durant’s 2006-07 season, where he was the unanimous National Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. Durant averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks, before being selected second overall by Seattle in the 2007 NBA Draft. His 903 points in a single season remains untouched in Texas history.
Durant also won Big 12 Freshman of the Year, joining a legacy of Texas freshmen who earned conference honors, including Travis Mays (1987), Terrence Rencher (1992), Kris Clack (1996), T.J. Ford (2002), Daniel Gibson (2005), Tristan Thompson (2011), Myles Turner (2015), and Jaxson Hayes (2018).
While some of these players stayed in Austin longer, many one-and-done talents went straight to the NBA Draft. Notable first-round picks include Durant, Thompson, Mo Bamba, Hayes, Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Avery Bradley, and Cory Joseph.
Johnson has already made history, breaking Durant’s record for most points in a freshman debut with his 29-point outing against Ohio State. While he won’t reach Durant’s 903 points, his 475 points currently rank fourth all-time among Texas freshmen, behind Durant, Rencher, D.J. Augustin, and Thompson. Even a modest 60-point total over the next five games would place him in the top three.
While scoring numbers are crucial, they aren’t everything. Johnson is a lock for All-SEC honors and is a strong contender for SEC Freshman of the Year. However, SEC Player of the Year is likely out of reach, given Broome’s dominance for No. 1 Auburn.
Could Johnson earn All-American recognition? The AP, USBWA, NABC, and The Sporting News each name three All-American teams, and Johnson has proven himself to be one of the top 10 players in the nation. According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, he currently sits at No. 3 on his Big Board 1.0.
The NBA Draft looms large in Johnson’s future, but how high he climbs will depend on his performance in the final stretch of the season. Durant, despite an up-and-down regular season, led Texas to the Big 12 Tournament final before falling to Kansas. His NCAA Tournament run ended in the first weekend against USC.
Many Texas one-and-done freshmen haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game, including Bamba, Allen, and Hayes. If Johnson can help Texas make a deep run, he’ll solidify himself among the best freshmen in Longhorns history. If they fall short, he’ll join the list of talented Longhorns whose college careers ended without postseason success.
Stay tuned for more as Tre Johnson’s freshman campaign continues to unfold!
