The Washington Wizards selected Tre Johnson with the sixth overall pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday.
Tre Johnson in the Alamodome.
Johnson, who won the state championship with the Wildcats in 2023, has now earned the distinction of being the highest draft pick to come out of Lake Highlands High School in all four major North American sports. It has not yet been announced what jersey number he will wear for Washington.
LHHS Head Coach Joe Duffield was in Brooklyn with the Johnson family for the Draft, and says his former player is looking forward to moving to the DMV.
“I think he’s excited. I think Washington was one of the places that he actually wanted to go,” Duffield said. “It’s going to provide him a lot of opportunity to kind of play and show what he can do and be a leader on that team. So I think he’s excited.”
Compared to “bigger, score-first guards” like Jordan Clarkson and CJ McCollum in his NBA.com draft profile, the six-foot-six guard led Texas in scoring this season as a true freshman and had been ranked highly by analysts in the leadup to the draft. Johnson scored 29 points to push the Wildcats past Beaumont United in the state championship game, so neighbors probably aren’t surprised to hear the alum has garnered praise for his ability to put points on the board.
The SEC Freshman Player of the Year’s first and only season with the Longhorns was filled with accolades. He was a finalist for the Jerry West Award, which recognizes the season’s top collegiate shooting guard, and was named to both the All-SEC Freshman team and All-SEC second team.
“I think being able to compete in the SEC, which was one of the best conferences maybe ever, but also not just be there, but lead the league in scoring last season and just seeing some of the same things we saw when he was in high school, he’s able to do that at next higher levels,” Duffield said. “That was neat to see.”
According to his NBA.com draft profile, one of his favorite players is fellow Longhorn great and future first-ballot Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. It’s fitting, especially considering Johnson’s natural scoring ability and the fact that he broke Durant’s team single-game freshman scoring record with a 39-point explosion in an overtime loss against Arkansas in February. In fact, Johnson averaged the most points per game (19.9) by a Texas player since Durant’s 2006-07 campaign.
Before his days as a Longhorn, Johnson was a standout player for the Wildcats and the No.4 player in his class. He transferred to Link Academy in St. Louis after winning the championship. During his senior year in Missouri, he committed to the Longhorns as a five-star prospect.
Duffield says he thinks Johnson will excel at the next level.
“His game is really well suited for the league,” he said. “ I’m excited to see him just play against the best players in the world and continue to improve and stay committed to the game and the craft. Also, just for the rest of the world to see not just the player he is, but the person he is.”
