Top-25 senior Chris Johnson announced his commitment to Kansas on Tuesday night, days after taking an official visit to the Jayhawks’ campus.
Johnson chose Bill Self’s program over a long list of offers, but the Jayhawks had prioritized him in July and were able to clinch his commitment on his late July trip to Lawrence. Arkansas, UCLA, Alabama, Ole Miss and others were all involved.
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Texas who will transfer to Montverde Academy (Florida) for his senior season, Johnson is ranked No. 24 in the ESPN 100 for the 2023 class. He’s the No. 6 shooting guard in the country.
Johnson averaged 15.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the spring with JL3 Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit, then consistently stood out with the Houston Defenders on the Under Armour Association circuit in the summer.
“Johnson is a hard playing perimeter prospect with explosiveness,” ESPN National Recruiting Director Paul Biancardi said. “He scores in a variety of ways inside the arc. I’m really impressed with his body balance and control once he gets into his jumper or at the rim. On his drive and finish game he displays both straight-line and change-of-direction attacks. He is capable from beyond the arc, but it needs consistency and some shot-selection adjustment.
“Known as a scoring guard, Johnson has the ability as a ball guard to make plays by probing into the defense. He can see and hit a cutter or an open teammate. Defensively, there are moments of competitiveness — but there needs to be more of an emphasis on that end to become a complete version of himself.”
Johnson is Kansas’ first commitment in the 2023 class after the Jayhawks landed a top-five group in 2022, highlighted by five-star signees Gradey Dick and Ernest Udeh. Other Kansas targets in the senior class include Taison Chatman, while Mikey Williams took an official visit in June and Braelon Green included the Jayhawks in his final list of five.