We may one day look back at the 2024-25 college basketball season and wonder how the Texas Longhorns could be so disappointing when Tre Johnson continues to be one of the best scorers in the country. We will likely look no further than head coach Rodney Terry.
He picked up a needless technical foul on Wednesday night that did not go over well with his own team.
Johnson averages 20.9 points per game on 44.6% shooting and 39.1% from beyond the arc during his first (and likely only) season of college basketball. Texas’ next leading-scorer averages only 12. The Longhorns go through their five-star freshman and yet they are on the bubble for March Madness at 16-12. They would have no shot of making the Big Dance if Johnson and the SEC as a whole are not as good as they are.
Thus, it is extremely frustrating for him when the guy who is supposed to be the team’s biggest leader costs his team with a dumb technical foul for the second game in a row. Rodney Terry allowed South Carolina to push the lead to 18 at halftime in a bad loss on Saturday. He got T’d up again on Wednesday during the first half against Arkansas and gave the Hogs a 10-point lead.
Tre Johnson was not happy. The true freshman guard had some choice words for Terry upon return to the sideline. He had to check his own head coach!
After Rodney Terry received a tech here, star freshman Tre Johnson comes over and has a word with his coach.#Texas | #HookEm | 📹: ESPN https://t.co/HzylpXnoic pic.twitter.com/axt2q9j05y
— Noah Gross (@noah_gross27) February 27, 2025
Texas actually rallied during the second half and pushed the game to overtime. Maybe Rodney Terry’s technical foul served its purpose. Maybe the Longhorns were inspired by his technical foul.
Tre Johnson’s reaction certainly does not make it seem like he was happy with the shenanigans. For a true freshman to accost his coach, even in good faith, is a tough look for said coach!