Memphis basketball gets commitment Ty-Laur Johnson, a 4-star guard
Penny Hardaway is on a recruiting roll.
Memphis basketball scored its fourth verbal commitment of the past seven days Saturday and sixth overall, when Ty-Laur Johnson, a four-star guard from Our Saviour Lutheran School (Bronx, N.Y.), joined the Tigers’ 2023 recruiting class.
Johnson's commitment comes a week after Hardaway made a major splash by landing commitments from San Ysidro (Calif.) teammates Mikey Williams (5-star combo guard) and JJ Taylor (4-star wing). Six days ago, Memphis also secured a commitment from Dream City Christian (Ariz.) wing David Tubek.
Johnson, a former standout player at St. Benedict Prep (N.J.), picked Memphis over offers from NC State, Seton Hall, Mississippi State, Creighton, DePaul and others. The 6-foot, 160-pound sparkplug is rated the No. 66 overall recruit in the country and the No. 11 point guard nationally by 247 Sports Composite. Landing Johnson moves the Tigers' recruiting class ranking to fifth nationally, moving ahead of Tennessee, Oregon, Iowa State and Ohio State.
“I chose Memphis (because) the coaching staff is great,” Johnson said during his commitment ceremony. “And, over there, they’re teaching pros. That’s why I chose there. I’m gonna go there and work hard like I always do.”
Last month, Memphis accepted commitments from 4-star Calvary Christian (Fla.) shooting guard Carl Cherenfant and 3-star Link Academy (Mo.) guard Ryan Forrest, both of whom signed with the Tigers this week. Bolstering the backcourt is a top priority for Hardaway, as the Tigers will lose guards Kendric Davis, Alex Lomax and Elijah McCadden after this season. Other guards, such as Jayden Hardaway and Damaria Franklin, could also opt not return for another year.
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Johnson took an official visit to Memphis last month. He sat behind the Tigers’ bench during their 69-60 exhibition win over Christian Brothers on Oct. 23.
Johnson is quite familiar with Memphis assistant coach Andy Borman, who is in his first season on Hardaway’s staff. Borman came to the Tigers after having spent much of the past decade as coach of the New York-based AAU program New Renaissance Basketball Association. Johnson played for Borman’s former team, which is part of the Nike EYBL circuit.
Johnson earned First Team all-Peach Jam honors, averaging 21.7 points, 6.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game in July. Before that, he earned MVP honors during the Nike EYBL Louisville session, when he had 20.8 points, 6.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
“The emerging point guard controls the pace of games and is proving he can function as an elite facilitator at the highest level,” Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy wrote after Johnson’s showing in Louisville. “The hard-nosed guard can hurt you in a number of ways, as he’s shown the ability to take over with 30-point games but is also capable of deferring and impacting contests with double-digit assist totals. The 6-foot floor general lacks elite length, but still manages to be a high-energy defender that can help create chaos for opposing guards.”
Penny Hardaway may not yet be done making noise in recruiting. Memphis is hosting his son, 3-star wing Ashton Hardaway, on an official visit this weekend. Another recruit Hardaway has offered, Bronny James, also remains uncommitted.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Ty-Laur Johnson commits to Penny Hardaway, Tigers