Thoughts on Tre Johnson, Dailyn Swain, and Marcus Foster in the First Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament

March 19th, 2025

Today, I took the time to watch Tre Johnson and Texas take on Xavier in the First Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Tre Johnson had a solid showing, but Xavier put forth a terrific second half to get a comeback win over Texas. Here are my thoughts on how Johnson and others fared in this game.

Tre Johnson scored 23 points, made 4 three-pointers, and had 6 rebounds and 2 assists in his team’s 86-80 loss to Xavier. (Photo: Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images, via Longhorns Wire)

Texas’ 6-6 freshman swingman Tre Johnson had a solid showing in his team’s tough loss to Xavier. He is a very athletic shot maker that made some tough shots impressively, but he also was quite streaky and had some surprising defensive struggles in this game. He specifically made very impressive threes, as he can make them off the catch and dribble, and he also ran off of a screen to show off his movement shooting ability. He really excelled as an outside shooter, and he also was able to score on an acrobatic drive to the hoop. While he generally excelled as a marksman, he would sometimes take tough, contested shots that would lead to misses. Also, when he would drive to the hoop, he didn’t show an elite first step, and he tended to get bailed out by flailing and leaning into the defenders to draw contact and get to the free throw line.

He also showcased decent playmaking skills. He made good reads and got good touch on his passes to get assists, but he also was called for traveling on a drive that led to a turnover. Plus, Johnson did a satisfactory job of rebounding the basketball. Unfortunately, he didn’t defend as well as he should have. For the positives, he was able to get his hands on a deflected pass to help his team get a steal. He also used his length to contest a three to force a miss. However, he would tend to get beat off the dribble to allow scores, as he would give up baskets to opponents that shouldn’t get past him.

Overall, Johnson played well, as he primarily excelled on offense and on the boards in this game. He is a likely lottery pick that could go in the top 5, and in a favorable scenario, he could end up being a star player in the NBA.

Dailyn Swain scored 11 points, and had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in his team’s 86-80 win over Texas. (Photo: Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images, via Longhorns Wire)

Xavier’s 6-6 sophomore, Dailyn Swain quietly played well in his team’s win over Texas. He is a fairly athletic, versatile swingman that excelled at making hustle plays on both ends of the floor. He also is an unselfish player that passes the ball well, and he was able to get his fair share of boards. Defensively, he was active and was able to intercept a pass to get a steal, but he also tended to take bad gambles, which led him to commit a handful of reach-in fouls.

Overall, Swain is a hard-nosed swingman that can make plays on both ends of the floor, but he will need to improve his outside shot in the meantime. Still, he tends to make winning team plays on the floor, and he is a second round prospect that could profile into a defensive specialist role in the NBA.

Marcus Foster scored 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting, made 4 threes, and collected 8 rebounds and 2 assists in his team’s 86-80 win over Texas. (Photo: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA Today Network via Imagn Images, via Fansided’s Wildcat Blue Nation)

Xavier’s 6-5 senior guard, Marcus Foster had a terrific showing to help his team get the win over Texas. He is an agile, very skilled scorer that excelled at knocking down a plethora of threes, as he did so both off the catch and dribble, and he also was skilled at scoring out of the post as well as on drives to the hoop. He also generally passed and rebounded well. On the downside, he would sometimes struggle to defend quicker players, which would cause him to commit fouls and allow scores. Overall, Foster played very well, and he is a skilled marksman that could profile into a 3 and D role in the NBA.

Ryan Conwell played very well, and he had a strong all-around game in his team’s win over Texas. He is an agile, skilled point guard that excelled as a shooter and scorer, as he would knock down spot-up threes, score on smooth drives to the hoop, and he also passed the ball well. He made good reads and was able to tie up an opponent defensively to help his team get a steal. Overall, he had a strong showing, and he showed that he may have the skills to make it to the NBA.

Kadin Shedrick also had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Xavier. He showed off versatile scoring skills, as he made a three, and excelled at driving to the hoop to score the basketball. He was solid as a rebounder and defender. He is an athletic, active help defender that can get blocks and steals, but would sometimes play too aggressively and commit touch fouls. Overall, he played well in his team’s loss, and he is an athletic, energetic big man that may have what it takes to make it to the NBA.

Tramon Mark showed off versatile scoring skills and was able to swing the ball to notch a handful of assists, and he hit some tough shots in this game, particularly from the outside, but he also showed a tendency to over-dribble and commit turnovers. Still, he is an agile, skilled combo guard that may have the skills to make it to the NBA someday.

Jerome Hunter shot the ball very well, especially from downtown, and he showed a knack for making spot-up threes off the catch to help his team on offense. He also set a fairly solid screen to help his team score on a drive to the hoop, and he also intercepted a pass to get a steal. Overall, he played very well, and he projects into a 3 and D role at the NBA level.

Dante Maddox Jr. played very well, as he primarily excelled as an outside shooter, he made smart passes, and he also is an active help defender that defended well. He is a fairly solid athlete, and he turned in a good all-around performance to help his team get the win.

Zach Freemantle didn’t have his best game, but he still played decently in his team’s win over Texas. He showed off fairly solid low post scoring skills, excelled at scoring on hustle plays, and even made a three-pointer. He also passed the ball well. On the downside, he was streaky with his three-point shot and sometimes struggled to score off the dribble, and he didn’t grab many boards for a player his size. While he was active defensively, he generally struggled to defend quicker players, which would lead him to commit touch fouls. All in all, he had his ups and downs, but he is a skilled big man that could end up competing for a roster spot in the NBA, and could carve out a solid playing career in professional basketball.

Arthur Kaluma had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Xavier. He didn’t take many shots, but he showed a satisfactory ability to score off the dribble when he would elect to score the basketball. He also was able to make a nice drive and dish pass to get an assist. He also generally defended well, as he would contest shots to force misses, and he also jumped a pass to get a steal. On the downside, he didn’t take many threes and missed his lone three-point shot in this game. Overall, Kaluma will need to improve his outside shot, but he could project into a 3 and D role at the NBA level.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Tre Johnson and other various prospects fared in this game. Thanks for reading.