{"id":192416,"date":"2026-03-05T23:10:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/192416\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T23:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:10:17","slug":"dj-hall-stars-for-texas-state-basketball-ahead-of-sun-belt-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/192416\/","title":{"rendered":"DJ Hall stars for Texas State basketball ahead of Sun Belt Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Texas State men\u2019s basketball<\/a> forward DJ Hall<\/a> became the Sun Belt’s<\/a>\u00a0freshman of the year,<\/a> he was a sophomore at Plano East High School with one offer to his name.<\/p>\n

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Even after the then 6-foot-6, 225-pound center led the Panthers to a UIL Class 6A state championship, he received no offers from Power Four schools.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m used to being overlooked and underestimated,\u201d Hall told the American-Statesman.<\/p>\n

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That one offer, though, that came before that state title? It was from\u00a0Texas State head coach Terrence Johnson.<\/a> He went all-in on the forward’s potential and fans have seen the coach’s wager blossom as Hall has evolved into one of the best players in the conference.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

‘You’re the future of this program’<\/p>\n

Texas State first noticed Hall at an AAU tournament, the summer before his junior year at Plano East. He received an invitation to the Bobcats\u2019 camp in August, where Johnson scouted the teen thoroughly for the first time.<\/p>\n

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Hall doesn\u2019t appear to be an exceptional athlete on first glance. His jogging gait is a bit plodding. Plano East coach Matt Wester said Hall didn\u2019t dunk once during the team\u2019s title run. But Johnson looked beyond the traditional markers of athleticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he had a very unique skill set, of being able to create angles for himself,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cFor his size, he was a really, really good passer, and I thought he played with a quick-twitch muscle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other programs were initially unimpressed. Wester said they questioned whether the play style he crafted throughout his prep career would fit into their system. But Johnson had no such qualms. Texas State extended an offer in August\u00a02023 \u2014 Hall\u2019s only offer for the next 10 months.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was communicated very clearly from the very beginning that DJ was the highest priority,\u201d Wester said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas State Bobcats forward DJ Hall (0) shoots the ball as Texas State men’s basketball takes on Troy at Strahan Arena in San Marcos Wednesday,Feb. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

As Plano East and Hall toppled opponent after opponent in the 2024 state playoffs, Texas State kept a close eye on its top target. Wester said Bobcats reps would send him pictures from the Sun Belt championship, where the staff would be watching Panthers games, their eyes glued to No. 0.<\/p>\n

Hall\u2019s recruitment picked up soon after his junior season. But the Bobcats\u2019 consistent pursuit paid off, and he committed in the fall of 2024. He ended up Plano East’s all-time leading and scorer, and during his visit to San Marcos, one thing Johnson told Hall rang through Westers’ mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf anybody believes in you more than we do, you should probably go there,\u201d Johnson told Hall and Wester. \u201cWe think you\u2019re the future of this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Committing to Texas State basketball<\/p>\n

Despite where he\u2019s ended up, there was a time when Hall said he wasn\u2019t sure if he had a future in basketball at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hall suffered a knee injury his freshman year of high school. As he recovered and tried to regain his form, he saw his peers surpass him. The frustration mounted, his mental health declined and Hall said he considered quitting the sport altogether.<\/p>\n

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Comparison can be the thief of joy. Growth isn\u2019t linear. Both are common refrains, but at the time, Hall struggled to see past the fog clouding his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a time I was depressed a lot,\u201d Hall said. \u201cI started taking it seriously. I was like, ‘Do I really want to do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DJ<\/p>\n

DJ Hall at the UIL 6A State Championship game between Stony Point and Plano East.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/American-State\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Hall went through counseling, he said. His parents supported him as he contemplated his future. When Wester was deciding in 2023 who to give the final varsity spot to, the upperclassmen convinced the coach to give it to Hall, who hadn\u2019t broken out yet. They saw something in him that even Wester hadn’t yet identified.<\/p>\n

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Eventually, Hall rediscovered his passion and fully committed to becoming great in basketball. Midway through his sophomore year, Wester said Hall’s talent began to bloom.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had to figure out his work ethic, especially on the court,\u201d Plano East vice principal Mona Addelfattah said. \u201cIt was just figuring himself out and what his goals really were.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s common practice for top recruits to leave high school after their junior season for a prep program. Washington Wizards guard Tre Johnson, who won the Class 6A state title with Lake Highland in 2023, spent his senior season with Link Academy. Yet Hall remained with Plano East after the state title. The Panthers didn\u2019t replicate the magical 2024 playoff run, but Hall\u2019s decision wasn\u2019t made solely with winning in mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be around the people who show me support since I was at my lowest to my highest. That\u2019s pretty much how I\u2019ve always been,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

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Steadfast commitment for DJ Hall<\/p>\n

After landing Hall, Johnson created a pathway for him to start. He avoided recruiting any junior college players that might eat into Hall’s minutes. He wanted the freshman to play early, work through his mistakes and develop. However, it became apparent during preseason practices that Hall was ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Johnson said the freshman was a mismatch nightmare, bullying smaller guards and utilizing his quickness against larger forwards. Hall didn’t just earn a starting spot; he became one of Texas State’s best offensive players from the jump.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he had the talent to be an all-conference player at some point,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe probably got there a little bit quicker than most people would have thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas State Head Coach Terrence Johnson talks to his team as the Bobcats create to play the Texas A&M San Antonio Jaguars at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Nov. 5, 2025.<\/p>\n

Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Guard Mark Drone said he and the other Texas State veterans don\u2019t look at him as a freshman. He earned their respect with his game, and Johnson praised them for putting the team\u2019s success ahead of their own pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m seeing these guys really support me, telling me I\u2019m going to be great,” Hall said.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t been all smooth sailing. Texas State struggled to piece its team together through the first three months of the season. But the Bobcats meshed at the right time, winning eight of their last nine regular-season games.<\/p>\n

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Over the last two months, Texas State has connected through the idea of playing for one another. Their steadfast commitment to his success and his own dedication to his teammates allow Hall to be the best he can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll always have their back. They\u2019ve had my back this whole season,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before Texas State men\u2019s basketball forward DJ Hall became the Sun Belt’s\u00a0freshman of the year, he was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2692,19752,1771,9330,160,162,161,9327,51458,1927],"class_list":["post-192416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-college-basketball","tag-men-s-college-basketball","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-division-i","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news","tag-texas-state-bobcats","tag-texas-state-bobcats-basketball","tag-texas-state-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}