This Thanksgiving week, Texas men’s basketball fans are probably grateful for Tre Johnson.
Led by the freshman guard with 21 points and five rebounds, Texas defeated the Hornets 90-68 at the Moody Center the week after bringing home the first piece of hardware of the season with a win at the UKG Legends Classic tournament in Brooklyn, New York.
Johnson has dominated since his collegiate debut against Ohio State in early November. He has scored double-digits in every game and reached nearly 30 points in the first two.
After making his debut against Syracuse in the tournament, graduate guard Tramon Mark took second place in team standings with 15 points and five rebounds for his first home game appearance.
“(Mark) is a great leader,” junior guard Chendall Weaver said. “He can space the floor, he’s a defender, a playmaker, he does it all. He really helps us, because if I need a blow or if Tre (Johnson) needs a blow, he can come in and fill those spots.”
Mark and Johnson were two out of four Longhorns in the double figures, also including graduate forward Kadin Shedrick with 14 and senior forward Arthur Kaluma with 13. This has been Kaluma’s best start to a season statistically, and for him, growth is a matter of consistency.
“I’ve been really focused on staying at the gym, working on every single aspect of my game that I can,” Kaluma said. “Obviously a lot of the team stuff comes from practice and I’m trying to be a very vocal leader, and I’m just enjoying my time. It’s my last year of college basketball and I gotta live it to the fullest.”
Like Johnson, the Kansas State transfer has scored 10 or more points in each game, with a high of 18 against Mississippi Valley State.
Kaluma and the Longhorns maintained the game’s lead through all 40 minutes of the last home game before the awaited UConn matchup.
Texas will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face NC State for the SEC-ACC matchup before hosting the national champions in Austin. Last year, the Huskies gave the Longhorns their first loss of the season 81-71.
