Five-star combo guard A.J. Johnson has decommitted from the Texas Longhorns men's basketball program and will sign with the NBL's Illawarra Hawks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnaroski and Jonathan Givony.
Johnson currently plays for the Southern California Academy in Castaic, CA.
The 6-foot-5, 160-pound Johnson spoke to Eric Bossi of 247 Sports about his decision sign with the Hawks, revealing that his choice ultimately came down to wanting to be in an offensive system with more freedom and feel to it.
“The college environment is a bit more controlled and about X's and O's and not as much about playing off of feel and freedom,” Johnson says.
“I feel like I thrive in more of an up and down system,” he continues, “getting up more shots and playing off feel but you are also still playing off of actions and stuff like that. I also want to get started on my professional career and taking it more serious so that I can really lock in on the game and try to be the best player I can be.”
Johnson — ranked 18th nationally in the class of 2023 — is the highest-ranked high school recruit to join the NBL since Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball.
Interestingly, Johnson compares his own game to Ball and former NBL standout Josh Giddey.
It's also worth noting that there's are young NBA stars familiar with his game, namely Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green.
Johnson, who has known Green since a child, considers the Rockets up-and-coming star to be like a brother. From the outside looking in they could even be twins, as they have the same jersey and the same game.
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