Texas basketball is ‘ahead of LSU’ for 5-Star PG AJ Johnson
With time winding down until the start of the Early Signing Period, head coach Chris Beard and his staff are looking to get things going in the 2023 Texas basketball recruiting class. At the moment, Texas doesn’t have a single commitment in the 2023 class. But there are plenty of possibilities in terms of who the first addition in the 2023 class could be for Texas.
Beard and the Longhorns have numerous blue-chip targets of the 2023 class that visited the Forty Acres in the last couple of months. Among the highest-rated visitors on the Forty Acres among offers of the Longhorns 2023 class is the elite five-star Donda Academy (CA) point guard AJ Johnson.
Texas looks to be in a really good spot with Johnson a little more than one month after he took an official visit that went quite well by all accounts. In fact, I would have a tough time saying that Texas is any lower than one of the top two schools right now in the race to land a commitment from Johnson.
Texas basketball in the lead for 5-Star 2023 PG AJ Johnson
According to a report from Jamie Shaw of On3 on Oct. 20, Texas “has done a lot to climb to the top of Johnson’s list”. Shaw even mentioned in this piece that “intel suggests Texas is ahead of LSU at this time”.
At the moment, it looks like the LSU Tigers could be the biggest challenger for Texas in the race to land a commitment from Johnson. Some other programs that have picked up contact with Johnson of late, including the Arkansas Razorbacks and Gonzaga Bulldogs, could also reportedly figure into the picture among the top schools for Johnson if he draws out his recruitment timeline far past the Early Signing Period.
Another school that could be a threat to jump in the mix among the top schools for Johnson is the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville is vying to get a visit from Johnson this fall, which could be something that moves the needle with him and his camp.
Yet, I would still consider Texas the favorite and the team with the momentum right now in the recruitment of Johnson. Landing a commitment from Johnson would clearly be a game-changer to kick things off in the Longhorns 2023 class.
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While Texas doesn’t have any commitments in the 2023 class at the moment, there is still a lot of potential with this group. Some of the top names to watch for the Longhorns 2023 class this fall in hoops recruiting are five-star Duncanville forward Ron Holland, five-star Carmichael Jesuit small forward Andrej Stojakovic, and four-star Donda Acaemy small forward JJ Taylor.