Jasper Johnson Has Always Dealt With Big Expectations

screenshot-1103-copy

Woodford County sophomore Jasper Johnson continues to turn in impressive outings on the Nike EYBL circuit and recently got invitations to the prestigious Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas and NBA Players Association Top 10 Camp in Orlando.

That’s only going to add more expectations for the talented 6-4 southpaw guard who has a Kentucky scholarship offer along with a lot of others.

“You have got to have expectations,” said Dennis Johnson, Jasper’s father and a former all-SEC defensive lineman at UK. “It doesn’t matter if it is academics or sports.

“There is pressure on you every time you go on the field or court. He’s going to have that. His grandfather (Alvis Johnson) had a big impact in sports coaching and with the KHSAA. Myself and my brother (Derrick) were college athletes. My wife is a Yeast and that’s a terrific athletic family. He’s got a family of people that were successful in sports.

“He knows the pressure. Cal (UK coach John Calipari) told him Kentucky is not for everybody because the pressure is so immense. He’s dealt with pressure his whole life and sometimes whatever you do is not enough for some people.”

Dennis Johnson paid close attention to how North Laurel star Reed Sheppard, the son of former UK stars Stacy and Jeff Sheppard, handled his playing career. He signed with Kentucky.

“Reed might score 30 points and it would not be enough for some people. It will be the same with Jasper,” Dennis Johnson said. “You have got to be mentally tough.

“There are going to be a lot of failures. You cannot get to the top without failures. You might get a lot of pats on the back but things in the grind can go wrong. You have to have a thick skin and be mentally tough to have success. He’s had enough notoriety that there is a microscope every day on him and he just has to deal with it.”

One Response

  1. Dennis knows exactly what Jasper would have to deal with at Kentucky. "Cal told him Ky is not for everyone because the pressure is so immense".
    "sometimes whatever you do is not enough for some people". He watched Reed Sheppards career. "Reed might score 30 points and it would not be enough for some people". I hope Jasper is a tough son of a gun and chooses the Cats. If he doesn’t, I don’t think anyone can put the blame on Calipari. He spoke the truth.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

All articles loaded
No more articles to load
Loading...