Texas coach Rodney Terry compares freshman Tre Johnson to Kevin Durant, believes the two are "cut from the same cloth"
Rodney Terry showcased the only freshman present on the SEC media day, Tre Johnson. Coaches usually prefer more experienced or veteran players to represent their roster. Nevertheless, Terry believes that the 5-star freshman guard is ready to act as the ultimate leader for the Texas Lognhorns.
The Texas coach also did not shy away from comparing Johnson to probably the Longhorns' best basketball product, Kevin Durant.
"He’s a super competitor," Terry said at the SEC media day. "I got a chance to coach Kevin Durant for one year at Texas, and he and Kevin have a lot of things in common, cut from the same cloth in terms of incredible work ethic. He’s a guy that we have to literally push out of the gym because he’s in the gym 24/7, much like Kevin was."
Kevin Durant was one-and-done at Longhorns after playing the 2006-07 season. He averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks across 35 games while shooting 40.4% from the 3-point line. In the process, Durant broke several program records and also won the John R. Wooden and Naismith College Player of the Year award.
Durant was picked second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics, where he won the Rookie of the Year award.
Tre Johnson spoke to Kevin Durant before committing to Texas
As Tre Johnson worked around questions around his workouts, free time, hobbies and favorite restaurants, one of them probed about his conversation with a program alumni.
The 18-year-old shared that he talked to Kevin Durant before yielding his commitment to Texas.
“I talked to Kevin Durant a little bit about him before I committed,” Johnson said. “He just said, go where my heart was at. He said he enjoyed his time here, just the connections and stuff he made off the court, so he thought it was gonna be a good place for me, too.”
Johnson has struggled a bit with injuries, citing "over-exertion" as the main reason behind it. As per a Sept. 24 article on Lone Star Live, Tre Johnson has been working on fixing his workout regime. Despite working out twice a day, the guard reportedly has a tendency to work out significantly more.