3 elite recruits Texas basketball can win over with a deep run in March

During a time of year when March Madness commands the headlines for the Texas basketball program, there are still some important things to take into account on the recruiting trail. The way that Texas performs during the postseason can obviously make a big impression on some of the program’s top priorities on the recruiting trail in the next couple of cycles.

If interim head coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns follow up on a solid run during the 2022-23 regular season and the Big 12 Tournament with a deep postseason run in March and April, that will be more than enough to build momentum that will spill over to the recruiting trail. That is a good sign that this program has a lot to buy into for the future and why it is heading in the right direction, regardless of what happens with the coaching situation next offseason.

Terry and the Longhorns are a two-seed in the Midwest Region in the Big Dance. If it is able to stave off an upset bid from the 15-seed Colgate Raiders in the Round of 64 on March 16, Texas has a pretty opportune path to making a run to the Elite Eight or Final Four this year.

Tre Johnson and the elite recruits Texas basketball can make an impression on during March Madness

With that in mind, here’s a look at three elite recruits that the Longhorns can make a major impression on by making a deep run in March Madness.

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BJ Davis-Ray, SG

One of the priority 2025 recruits that the Longhorns have offered that I personally like the most is the elite five-star Branson Link Academy (MO) shooting guard BJ Davis-Ray. Texas was one of the first schools to offer the 6-foot-6 and 175-pound two-guard/wing.

Davis-Ray officially received his scholarship offer from Texas in April 2022. Texas was one of the first three schools to officially extend him a scholarship offer, which came a few months before his recruitment really started to blow up last offseason.

Texas got in on this recruitment at a great time, and Terry personally has a good relationship with Davis-Ray and his camp. Terry has taken the lead on this recruitment for almost the past year. And it would obviously be a really good look if Terry and the Longhorns were able to make a run to the Elite Eight or Final Four this year.

Not only would a deep run in the NCAA Tournament help Terry make a strong case to have the interim tag taken off during the 2023 offseason, but it would also be something that could really appeal to Davis-Ray.

Per On3’s Jamie Shaw, Davis-Ray mentioned during an interview last month that finding the right fit in terms of personality and scheme will be the biggest factor in his recruitment.

"“I want to play for a coach who is going to make me better. I want to come into a team that I don’t really have to change my game. I’ll be looking closely at the system because I want it to fit my style.”"

Given the longstanding connection that Terry already has with Davis-Ray, it goes without saying that the former Fresno State and UTEP head coach getting the full-time gig would help the Longhorns’ chances in this recruitment early on. And as we’ve talked about already in this article and in recent weeks ad nauseam, the best way that Terry can make his case for getting the full-time job is to make a deep run in the postseason.

Texas is currently in a mix of around eight or 10 schools that have offered Davis-Ray that he is considering, which also includes the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Kansas Jayhawks, Arkansas Razorbacks, TCU Horned Frogs, Oklahoma Sooners, and Illinois Fighting Illini, among a few others.

He’s only visited Kansas and Arkansas thus far as Davis-Ray is still very much in the early stages of his decision-making process. Texas is definitely involved in this recruitment and getting Davis-Ray to campus would be a logical next move for Terry and the Longhorns with the elite two-guard.

Liam McNeeley, F

A top priority for the Longhorns on the recruiting trail in the 2024 class for more than a year now is the elite five-star Montverde Academy forward Liam McNeeley. The Richardson, TX, native 6-foot-8 and 190-pound forward has continued to see his recruitment blow up on the national scene in the last few months.

Since the fall, McNeeley received offers from Kansas, Arkansas, and the Michigan Wolverines. He’s also solidified his spot as a top-25 ranked recruit in the nation in the 2024 class according to most of the major recruiting services.

McNeeley’s recruitment exploding on the national scene in the last few months really proves how valuable it was for Texas to get its foot in the door early with the elite forward. Texas offered McNeeley in the summer of 2021. And he’s visited campus multiple times unofficially since he was originally offered roughly 18 months ago.

While McNeeley has visited Texas more times than any other school unofficially (three times since the 2021 offseason), it’s getting close to 10 months since his last trip to the 40. Getting McNeeley back to campus for an official visit next offseason is a necessary move that Texas needs to make in this recruitment to stick around among the top schools as he starts to narrow down his top list of schools.

And it sounds like Texas was in the process of getting McNeeley on the books for an official trip to Austin in the last few months. But the coaching situation for the Longhorns will definitely impact this recruitment. A piece from Zagsblog last month that provided an update on McNeeley’s recruitment gave a peak into Texas’ standing with the Richardson native.

"“I was pretty close with Texas before. I still talk to coach [Chris Ogden] but we gotta rebuild that relationship.”"

It clearly looks as if Terry and assistant coach Chris Ogden have some work to do to re-kindle the relationship with McNeeley. Former Texas head coach Chris Beard was in pretty frequent communication with McNeeley, and his departure did set back the Longhorns in this recruitment a good bit.

However, there was a point in time when the rise of the Texas program was making a big impression on McNeeley. A deep postseason run could be exactly what Terry and the Longhorns staff need to catch McNeeley’s attention and begin rebuilding this connection between Texas and the Montverde Academy standout.

Tre Johnson, SG/SF

The most coveted recruit in the 2024 class for the Longhorns is definitely the nation’s No. 1 ranked high school prospect, five-star Dallas Lake Highlands wing Tre Johnson. The elite prospect that is widely considered the early favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft is someone squarely on the radar of the Longhorns’ staff.

After a standout junior season at Lake Highlands High School that saw him lead his squad to the UIL State Championship and win Mr. Texas Basketball Player of the Year, Johnson is seemingly on top of the world right now.

With that type of rise has come an insane influx of attention that Johnson has received from the top college hoops programs in the country in the last five or six months. He recently took official trips to see the Kentucky Wildcats (Jan. 2023) and Baylor Bears (Oct. 2022). And it sounds like top competitors on the recruiting trail such as Arkansas and the LSU Tigers are still making big pushes in this recruitment this spring.

Johnson did take an official visit to Austin last fall, which went well by all accounts. And given that Terry has taken the lead in this recruitment for more than a year now, I still like where Texas sits in this recruitment.

If Terry does get the full-time job, while seeing out a deep postseason run with the Longhorns this year, it’s hard to see Texas not sticking around among the top group of schools in the race to land a commitment from Johnson. Texas has already made a big impression on Johnson, and Terry has a great relationship with him and his family.