Assessing Texas basketball’s 3 biggest visitors in June
AJ Johnson, PG
One of the blue-chip 2023 recruits that is truly blowing up of late is the four-star Taft (CA) point guard AJ Johnson. Texas is one of the numerous schools that are placing heightened priority this summer on the recruiting trail with Johnson. And this looks to be just the right timing for Beard and the Longhorns staff as we enter a critical stretch of visits for the 2023 class this month.
Texas is doing a nice job in the recruitment of Johnson of late. Assistant coaches Rodney Terry and Bob Donewald Jr. were recently both in attendance in Phoenix, AZ, to watch Johnson ball out.
LSU head coach Matt McMahon and assistants from Kansas, USC, Arizona State, Texas, Texas Tech, and Louisville among those watching @BoysTaft and @FVHSBsktBall for a 5⭐️ battle between Taft ‘23 AJ Johnson and Fountain Valley ‘24 Carter Bryant pic.twitter.com/93iC1hAsca
— Ari Rosenfeld (@ARosenfeldHoops) June 19, 2022
A report from Justin Wells of Inside Texas on June 20 (paid content) also confirms that Johnson will be on campus in Austin on June 21 for an unofficial visit with the Longhorns. Considering the lack of visits that Johnson has booked so far this offseason, this is really big for the Longhorns staff to get him to campus this week.
https://twitter.com/_proinsight/status/1534261431402606592
Texas is also going to be battling it out with the likes of the Kansas Jayhawks, Kentucky Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Duke, among a few other schools on the recruiting trail for Johnson this summer.
The trio of blue bloods that includes Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke, have really heightened their pursuit of Johnson entering the summer. Texas will have to continue to fight to set itself apart from the rest of the field here. But it definitely won’t come easy.
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Johnson is one of the most dynamic offensive playmaking guards in this recruiting cycle. He’s got tremendous length at 6-foot-5 that he puts to good use with his handles, explosiveness getting to the rim and shot-creating ability from almost anywhere on the floor. At the moment, it looks like Johnson’s weakness is his off-ball defense. But his length and athleticism give him a higher floor than most in terms of his perimeter defending ability.
This would clearly be a tremendous addition to be a staple to the backcourt in the Longhorns 2023 class.