Kansas guard Chris Johnson requests release from NLI with the Jayhawks

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•06/03/23

The Kansas basketball team has a late defection, with a member of this year’s signing class requesting a release from his National Letter of Intent. Montverde Academy guard Chris Johnson will seek a new opportunity elsewhere.

The news was first confirmed by the Kansas City Star.

Johnson is a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Missouri City, Texas. He committed to Kansas back in August, picking Kansas over the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, UConn, UCLA and others.

It was a big get for the Jayhawks, who boasted the nation’s No. 13 ranked class.

Johnson was ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 51 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He checked in as the No. 12 point guard in the class and the No. 3 overall player in the state of Florida.

Wrote On3 in its scouting report of Johnson:

“Chris Johnson is a paint touch point guard with great size. He has a quick first-step into the paint and the IQ to make a read with what the defense gives him. The jump shot is a question mark, as his release can inconsistent. However, with he showed confidence this summer with one and two dribble pull ups in the mid range. He has the capability to be a good point of attack defender, with good size, length, and some quick-Twitch. There is a sense of toughness there and as long as he stays focused, there are a lot of tools to build on. The jump shot will need to be ironed out, but he does a lot of things you want a PG to do.”

Kansas is looking to return to form after finishing the 2022-23 season with a Round of 32 exit from the NCAA Tournament.

It’s probably not terribly surprising that the Jayhawks weren’t better able to defend their national title from the year prior; they lost quite a bit of talent off that national championship team.

Johnson would have been a quality backcourt addition, but Kansas can still lean on a 2023 signing class that includes four-star point guard Elmarko Jackson (the nation’s No. 21 player), small forward Marcus Adams Jr. (No. 64) and small forward Jamari McDowell (No. 99).