Chris Beard gives first thoughts on AJ Johnson after signing NLI

Chris Beard earned another massive commitment for Texas this week when AJ Johnson announced he’d be a Longhorn after high school. The five-star point guard out of Woodland Hills, California shared on Monday that he’d be headed to Austin over other schools like LSU, USC, Louisville, and NC State. With his talent in mind, he’s a player that Beard is excited to eventually get on campus.

Beard shared his first public thoughts on Johnson during his press conference on Wednesday. He said, in a sport and business like college basketball, there’s nothing wrong with adding talents with the tools like Johnson’s.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“We’re always excited to add talent to the program,” said Beard. “Above all, it’s a talent business. AJ has a lot of talent. He has the length and athleticism, the IQ, and the skill to be one of those players that can play early in his career and be a guy that can play basketball for a long time.”

Johnson was going to play at Donda Academy this season before the school closed earlier in the semester. He has now joined SoCal Academy in Castaic, California and has gone on to commit and sign to Texas since.

If there’s one thing Beard loves more than Johnson’s talents, it is his timeline to become the player he is. It’s been a long road for Johnson to be able to sign with a program like Texas. Beard says that growth speaks volumes about the nation’s No. 16 overall player.

“I really respect his journey. It hasn’t been easy for him. He wasn’t one of those guys ranked high as a seventh or eighth grader. He wasn’t a five-star before he got his driver’s license,” Beard said. “He’s a guy that has really worked, chipped away, and really started getting a lot of credit in the recruiting world recently.”

“AJ’s a five-star talent, but he’s a guy that’s got a humility about him. He has run his own race. And, really, he has a chip on his shoulder because all this success hasn’t come easy for him. He has worked for it so we look forward to having him at The Forty Acres.”

Johnson now has a high school season ahead of him before joining Beard’s program. Until then, he’ll work to ensure he’s ready for the college game. Meanwhile, Beard will focus on his current team with the second piece of the nation’s No. 3 class now signed and sealed.