Analyst feels ‘really good’ about Texas basketball with 5-Star AJ Johnson

In just a few days, we will find out the decision from potentially the top remaining target on the big board for head coach Chris Beard and his staff in the 2023 Texas basketball recruiting class. On Nov. 21, the elite five-star Southern California Academy combo guard AJ Johnson is set to announce his decision.

And it looks like Beard and the Longhorns are sitting in a great spot right now among the top schools in Johnson’s recruitment. In fact, it seems like Texas could be setting the pace in this recruitment since this staff really knocked it out of the park with Johnson during his official visit to Austin on Sep. 3.

Beard and assistant coach Rodney Terry have done a great job in this recruitment as we get closer to decision day for Johnson. Texas has consistently appealed to Johnson in multiple regards, including pitching him on the immediate impact he could make on this team and showing the NBA talent that has rolled through the Forty Acres in the past.

Johnson has talked on multiple occasions regarding how superstar NBA forward Kevin Durant was a stud for the Longhorns back in the day. Texas also did a nice job getting Johnson on campus a couple of months ago with the person who he calls his “big brother”, Houston Rockets second-year guard Jalen Green.

Texas basketball in a favorable spot with 5-Star CG AJ Johnson a few days before his commitment date

https://twitter.com/InsideTexas/status/1593582580510883840

All told, it sounds like Texas has quite a few reasons why it should be confident a few days ahead of Johnson’s commitment date. There is even an On3 national recruiting analyst, Inside Texas’ Gerry Hamilton, that seems to have confidence in the Longhorns’ positioning in the race to land a commitment from Johnson heading into the weekend.

According to a report from On3/IT’s Hamilton on Nov. 18 (paid content), they feel ” really good about the Longhorns chances” ahead of Johnson’s commitment date.

A few of the other top schools competing with Texas in the race to land a commitment from Johnson are the LSU Tigers, NC State Wolfpack, and Louisville Cardinals. He’s taken official visits to each of the four schools mentioned in this piece in the last couple of months.

But it looks like Texas’ biggest competition here will come from LSU. The Tigers made quite the impression on Johnson after offering him in early August.

Granted, LSU probably got in on this recruitment too late to make up the necessary ground to beat out Texas to land Johnson when he announces on Nov. 21.

Texas currently holds a commitment from one recruit in the 2023 class. The lone commitment in the Longhorns 2023 class is the elite five-star Duncanville forward Ron Holland, who gave his pledge to Texas and signed earlier this month.