I know, I know, but I have developed a college basketball/NBA potential man-crush on Texas guard Tre Johnson. We all have our oddities. Rafael Barlowe does an NBA substack I subscribe to and he's starting to make me angry, saying Johnson could go as high as No. 3. I need him to fall to 7 or 8 and for the Philly pick to end up in that spot. Barlowe is, like me, quite high on Johnson.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Tre Johnson is that he’s a ball-stopper, and I think that’s pretty absurd. If you just look at the raw numbers, his 2.6 assists per game don’t scream “playmaker.” But when you actually watch his film, it’s clear that he’s a high-level passer.
He makes live-dribble reads.
He delivers skip passes and flashy assists with ease.
He finds cutters and consistently locates shooters.
He can hit the roll man in pick-and-roll situations.
He has a great understanding of how to use his scoring gravity to open up shots for teammates.
I broke down the film, and when you actually watch the passes he’s making, it becomes pretty ridiculous that he doesn’t get more credit for his playmaking ability. Johnson isn’t just a scorer—he’s a legitimate offensive creator who can make plays for others while still being a high-level bucket-getter.
