What will Ty-Laur Johnson bring to Memphis?

Four-star Ty-Laur Johnson became the sixth commitment in the 2023 class for the Memphis Tigers. The 6-foot-0 point guard is the 2023 On3 Consensus No. 67 player in the class.

The Bronx (NY) Our Savior Lutheran guard had a good summer with the NY Rens program on Nike’s EYBL Circuit. He averaged 18.1 points and 6.1 assists per game. He finished the summer with a 46.0 effective field goal percentage.

Johnson’s game

Ty-Laur Johnson is a true point guard who plays with a sense of flair. He is a quick-on-quick guard with a tight handle, able to get to his spots in the half-court.

Johnson is an alpha, confident player with the ball in his hands. However, the aforementioned flair can get him into some trouble. His 6.1 assists per game were one of the top outputs on the Nike circuit. However, he added 4.1 turnovers, which led to a 1 to 5 assist-to-turnover ratio. His 19.1 turnover percentage is something that will need to be monitored.

Johnson is a slippery with the ball in his hands. He has no problem getting anywhere he wants on the court, and he has an array of finishes in the paint. He is strong off of two feet, and he can finish from a number of angles around the basket. During EYBL play, Synergy says Johnson shot 48.6 percent from two. He has a strong pull-up game as well in the mid-range.

Johnson will need to improve his shooting from beyond the arc. He is a capable shooter but has a tendency to shoot off-balance or at the end of a shot clock. Johnson will have to get his balance down and develop an understanding of his footwork to get into his shot. He is a reliable free throw shooter, staying above 70 percent, shooting almost five attempts per game.

Projecting Johnson

Johnson has an interesting set of tools. He is very quick, and his handle will translate. He does not lose much speed, if any, with the ball in his hands, and there is an upside as an on-the-ball defender.

He will need to reign some stuff in and have some accountability in his reads and decisions. You don’t want to kill the flair; that is something that makes him special, but finding the fine line between the flair and running the team will be the next step. The jump shot will need some tweaking as well.

Ty-Laur Johnson brings a sense of toughness to a game. There is a lot there that could translate to production.

Memphis’ Class

With the addition of four-star point guard Ty-Laur Johnson, Memphis now has the No. 12 class in the 2023 On3 Team Rankings. The Tigers now have the No. 1 ranked class in the American Athletic Conference.