Sean Miller is excited to work with "the modern guard" in Isaiah Johnson
Texas signed a quality transfer portal class that featured five additions to Sean Miller‘s roster during the most recent cycle. The highest ranked of that group according to On3? Colorado guard Isaiah Johnson.
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The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder from Los Angeles was On3’s No. 8 overall player in the portal and the No. 1 point guard. He led the Buffaloes in scoring least year with 16.9 ppg, a mark that was third in the Big 12. He set the freshman scoring record for CU, scoring 10-plus points in 29 of 32 games. Johnson shot 48.6% from the field, 37.8% from three, and 82.1% from the line.
On Monday, Miller joined The Field of 68 and discussed what Johnson adds to the program.
“I’m super excited about Isaiah,” Miller said. “One thing to consider is this: he played in the Big 12, arguably the best conference in the country alongside the Big 10 and the SEC. He played it at 18 years old. He was a true 18-year-old freshman, which is very difficult to do. Broke the Colorado scoring record as an 18-year-old freshman.”
While modern college basketball does not require an old-school point guard, it does need an initiator. Johnson averaged 3.0 apg last year. From last year’s Longhorns, only Dailyn Swain with 3.6 apg averaged more than two dimes per contest. Johnson outpaced most of the Longhorns in passing while carrying a heavy offensive burden. Those skills have Miller excited to put Johnson at the one.
“He’s, to me, the modern guard in that he can both score and distribute,” Miller said. “Really from an offensive perspective and skill level, I don’t know if there’s too many players that will be playing college basketball that are more skilled than him. People talk about these splits, what you shoot from the field, the free throw line, and the three point line, he’s an elite level scorer and shooter when it comes to efficiency. Yet I also believe he has the ability to make his teammates better. He understands the game. He plays really under control.”
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Johnson will have other quality players in the backcourt with him like Austin Goosby, Amari Evans, and Mikey Lewis in 2026-27, providing him with a stronger supporting cast than what was available to him in Boulder. That will help Johnson become a better player, but so too will physically maturing as he ages.
“I’m excited to get him here because he was so young,” Miller said. “I think he’s going to grow and get bigger and stronger. As he does, some of the things he did as a freshman, he’s really going to be even better at as a sophomore.”
Johnson was ranked as the No. 13 overall transfer portal prospect and the No. 1 point guard in the On3 Industry Ranking. On3 ranked Johnson as the No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 point guard.
