Future Kansas Jayhawk Chris Johnson would love for a buddy to join him on hoops team

Chris Johnson, the first high school basketball player in the recruiting Class of 2023 to commit to Kansas, has a specific person in mind to fill the next available opening on the 2023-24 KU men’s hoops roster.

“Now that I’m on board, I’m going to try and do my duty and get people over there with me. I think I’m going to come after Wesley Yates, my fellow Texas native. I’ve been playing with him ever since elementary school. That’s my guy,” Johnson, a 6-foot-5 senior combo guard guard from Houston, Texas, wrote Tuesday night in a first-person article for SI.com.

Johnson, ESPN.com’s No. 24-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2023 who will attend Montverde (Florida) Academy this school year after three years at Elkins High in Fort Bend, Texas, orally committed to KU on Tuesday. He chose the Jayhawks over Arkansas, Texas A&M, Houston, Alabama, Texas, UConn, Auburn, TCU, Tennessee, UCLA, Creighton, Georgia and others.

Yates, a 6-3 combo guard from Beaumont (Texas) United High School who is ranked No, 47 nationally by ESPN.com and No. 24 by Rivals.com, has a recruiting list of Baylor, Houston, LSU, Auburn, Gonzaga, Stanford, Washington, Clemson, Memphis, Duke and others.

“During my visit (to KU campus July 25-27) I made the whole Kansas staff watch his game on TV, so I really want to play with him,” Johnson wrote of Yates in his Si.com first-person article.

Whether KU ultimately becomes involved in the recruitment of Yates could possibly depend on how many scholarships become available and if KU has room for another combo guard in the class.

The Jayhawks will have at least two scholarships available for players in the Class of 2023 to fill the slots of seniors Cam Martin and Kevin McCullar. As always, some non-seniors could depart for the NBA Draft. The transfer portal remains an option for current Jayhawk players as well.

KU has been recruiting Class of 2023 high school guards Mikey Williams and Taison Chatman as well as wing Kaden Cooper and bigs Dennis Evans, TJ Power and Jazz Gardner.

Johnson pointed out KU is an attractive destination for combo guards.

“What I really loved about Kansas is that they really let their guards hoop. They like guards who can guard 1 through 4, and that’s me all day,” Johnson wrote in his SI.com article. “They want me to go out there and be myself. They see me as a combo guard, but in their system, it’s really position-less. That’s one of the best parts about it.”

Johnson thoroughly enjoyed his July 25-27 campus visit to KU.

“It was literally a family. All of the players and the coaches were on the same page, and you could tell that it was a genuine brotherhood. I got to see all of the history there, and then with them just winning the natty it was a different level in every way. The visit was 10 out of 10,” he wrote for SI.com.

Rivals.com analyst provides his take

Rivals.com’s Travis Graf commented on the Johnson commitment on Wednesday.

“Chris Johnson has the measurables, athleticism, and strength to compete for a key roster position the moment he steps foot on campus in Lawrence. The four-star guard is at his best with a head of steam heading toward the rim, where he uses explosion and strength to finish around or through defenders. His outside shot is a work in progress and is currently in the ‘streaky’ category, but he has tools to work with from that level. The newly-committed guard is also an underrated facilitator from the off-guard spot. Johnson’s physical strength and build allow him to project defensive potential at the next level,” Graf wrote.

As far as KU’s next moves in recruiting, Rivals.com’s Graf wrote: “This is a year where Bill Self will probably hit the portal very hard and only take a few high school prospects. Right now, the Jayhawks are in a good position with five-star center Dennis Evans. Evans is 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan and would have to go to college for two seasons. They’re also in hot pursuit of five-star point guard Mikey Williams to help round out the backcourt.”

T.J. Ford comments on Johnson’s game

Former NBA point guard T.J. Ford, who has his own academy in the Houston area, has worked with Johnson for the past five years.

He commented on the commitment to On3.com: “You are getting a kid that is going to work extremely hard, and a kid that is dedicated to winning. Chris is going to bring a sense of intensity every day that he is in the gym and on the basketball court. Kansas is a good choice that he is making for himself, with an established coach that can handle a guy of his pedigree. It’s a good choice to get to the next level.”

Ford added: “Chris is a combo kind of guard in today’s terms. I think when you look at his ability to handle the basketball, I think he’s a guy you can always shift over to the point guard to be able to make decisions. Ultimately, him as a defender and getting in transition, I think he brings a lot of intangible things you will get to see at Kansas. And I think Bill Self and his staff will be able to display things like that of his talent.”

In an interview back in January to On3,com, Ford had said: “Chris is a big-sized guard. A guy that can handle the basketball, and has improved his jump shot since we began working with him in eighth grade to this point now. I feel like he is a two-way player that can give you an offensive threat, and defensively he can guard the opponents best player. Offensively, he rebounds well, and he can start your break.”