3 best Texas shooters for the 2024-25 season
While shooting efficiency was a staple of last season's Texas basketball team for head coach Rodney Terry and staff, it felt like that group didn't reach its full potential offensively in the Big 12 and the postseason. Texas ranked sixth in the Big 12 in true shooting percentage and seventh in offensive rating last season.
Texas basketball has multiple proven scorers and shot-makers on the projected roster again for the debut season in the SEC
Terry and the Longhorns had a roster chocked full of capable outside shooters, including senior forward Brock Cunningham, sophomore guard Chendall Weaver, and senior guard Max Abmas. Texas had three players who were all 40+ percent three-point shooters from the prior campaign, and many others who shot north of 35 percent from beyond the arc.
Texas was unable to fully maximize all the floor spacing up and down the rotation due to the scoring overreliance on senior big man Dylan Disu and Abmas. Together, Disu and Abmas averaged 45 percent of Texas's team scoring in conference play.
To fix the issue of a true lack of offensive playmakers outside of the top two go-to scorers, Texas added multiple immediate impact transfers from the portal during the spring window. Terry also signed multiple blue-chip recruits from Texas in the 2024 recruiting class who can help bolster Texas's two-way efficiency in the SEC in 2024-25.
But the scoring and playmaking are two areas where I expect Texas to be much better on the hardwood than they were last season. Here are three of the best shooters on the Longhorns' projected roster for the 2024-25 season.
Tre Johnson, SG
Texas's crown jewel of the 2024 recruiting class, Dallas (TX) Link Academy five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson, is one of the nation's top playmakers among incoming freshmen for the 2024-25 season. Johnson is a true three-level scorer who can put the ball in the basket off the dribble, at the rim, or as a catch-and-shoot threat from range.
Johnson is an effective scorer and shooter from the mid-range and beyond the arc. He shot north of 39 percent from beyond the arc during his senior season at Link Academy and over 80 percent from the stripe during the EYBL circuit in 2023.
It's not out of the question that Johnson could be Texas's top three-point scorer next season as a true freshman. He's got a pure shooting form that doesn't need much tweaking or development at the collegiate level. This type of sharpshooter can be lethal from almost anywhere on the floor in the settled offensive halfcourt or scoring in transition.
Texas has a backcourt/wing rotation chocked full of proven playmakers and capable shooters from distance. Johnson will be sharing the backcourt/wing minutes with big-time scorers like senior Tramon Mark, senior forward Arthur Kaluma, and junior guard Jordan Pope, among others.
But the fact of the matter is that Johnson is the type of NBA Draft Lottery-caliber scorer who can ignite this offense from the minute he touches the floor with the starting five next season. He promises to be an electric scorer and efficient shooter of the likes Texas hasn't seen since maybe even Kevin Durant in 2007.