Chron: UT Recruit May Miss Season

gucci888 · Jun 20, 2007

Aldine's Johnson could miss first season at UT

By JOSEPH DUARTE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Gary Johnson, one of the top basketball recruits in the nation out of Aldine and a projected starter for the Texas Longhorns, could miss the upcoming season after being diagnosed recently with a heart condition.

Johnson has seen two specialists during the past few weeks and could undergo additional testing, his former high school coach, Zeke Smith, said Tuesday.

Smith did not know specific details of Johnson’s medical condition, but said the 6-7 power forward never experienced any problems in high school.

“None whatsoever,” Smith said. “He worked like a quarterhorse.”

Asked whether this could be a long-term problem, Smith said, “We’re in a wait-and-see-type situation. It’s possible we won’t have any answers for a few months.”

Johnson, a freshman, is currently attending summer school at Texas. Texas coach Rick Barnes was unavailable for comment, but the school issued a statement from team trainer Fred Burnett.

“At this point in time, Gary Johnson has not been cleared to participate in any physical activities at the University of Texas,” Burnett said.

Johnson was a third-team Parade All-American as a senior, averaging 26 points and 13 rebounds last season for Aldine. Smith said Johnson sounded upbeat when he spoke with him on Tuesday.

“He’s not giving up hope,” Smith said. “He has a lot of faith.”
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Hopefully he will check out alright, Johnson is one of the top recruits in the nation and the 2nd or 3rd best player out of Houston/Texas. Not good for UT as he was our top recruit and how we also lost a top football recruit due to a heart complication as well.

Bogey · Jun 20, 2007

Although I don't normally want UT guys to succeed, I never want them to have any kind of physical issues. Hope everthing works out for the guy.

leroy · Jun 20, 2007

Hopefully he can make a full recovery and come back in a year, a la Ronny Turiaf. He was in line to start at PF for UT.

Sucks for the team but at least they caught it before the worst case scenario.

percicles · Jun 20, 2007

Hope he realizes that basketball is a luxuary and takes advantage of his education.

ima_drummer2k · Jun 20, 2007

Heard about this last night. I couldn't care less about UT basketball, but I sure hope that kid is OK. It must really suck to have such a bright future only to have it taken away with just a visit to the doctor.

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