NCAA Basketball: Ranking 10 contenders for top-50 guard Chris Johnson
4. Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M had a big breakout season and should be ranked to start next year, thanks to returning star guard, Wade Taylor. They also have back Tyrese Radford for one more year and added transfers, Eli Lawrence and Jace Carter. Admittedly, this is an option where it’ll be hard-pressed for Johnson to get a lot of minutes as a freshman but he not only would have a much bigger role as a sophomore but potentially run the offense as well.
3. Ole Miss Rebels
Coach Chris Beard was after Johnson when he was at Texas a year ago. And a case can be made that he needs the former Kansas commit even more now. The Rebels have added four transfer perimeter players but two of them (Brandon Murray and Allen Flanigan) have eligibility concerns. And both Jaylen Murray and Austin Nunez are combo guards unproven at the SEC level. This is a scenario where Johnson could find a nice role early, playing more on the ball than off.
2. Miami Hurricanes
The Hurricanes landed a pair of international guards this offseason in Kyshawn George and Paul Djobet. They’ll be part of the future, as almost the entire backcourt core is entering their upperclassmen seasons. That includes rising senior Nijel Pack. This is a scenario where Johnson may have to wait a year before a larger role but this is a program that has done great with guards, including recent ACC Player of the Year, Isaiah Wong.
1. Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns were after Johnson in the first go-around and while it was under a different head coach, former assistant and now new HC Rodney Terry was also likely part of the process. And the current backcourt construction looks much more doable this time around since both Arterio Morris and former top-30 combo guard commit AJ Johnson are now both out of the picture.
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Both of Texas’ starting guards will be upperclassmen next season, with Oral Roberts transfer Max Abmas having just one year left. But with Texas-Rio Grande transfer Chendall Weaver as the only other true guard on the current roster, this is an opportunity for Johnson to have a sizeable role as a freshman, before a much larger one the year after.