With Big Blue Watching, Jasper Johnson had the Perfect Homecoming

Jasper Johnson hit 10 3-pointers in Sunday night's win. (Bill Caine/Woodford County Sun).

VERSAILLES — It was about as close to a perfect night for Jasper Johnson as it could have been.

The former Woodford County star returned home with Link Academy Sunday night to face Huntington Prep in the Court XIV Classic honoring the memory of his grandfather, Alvis Johnson.

Not only did Johnson, a junior, score 15 points on five 3-pointers in the first quarter but he finished with 37 points and 10 3-pointers in the easy win. There was no other choice for MVP than Johnson.

Not only did Johnson have his family, including his grandmother Rosetta, watching along with a huge number of Woodford fans who watched him help Woodford reach the state tournament semifinals last year, but the crowd also included Kentucky coach John Calipari and assistant Chin Coleman. North Carolina coach Hubert Davis and assistant Todd May were also sitting court side along with coaches from Missouri and West Virginia who were also there to watch Johnson and Huntington Prep standout Darryn Peterson, the No. 3 player in the 2025 recruiting class (Johnson is No. 10). North Carolina signee James Brown, Johnson’s roommate, also plays for Link.

Calipari and Coleman were not the only Big Blue influencers at the game. Kentucky players Reed Sheppard,  DJ Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard, Justin Edwards and Adou Thiero also were sitting courtside to watch Johnson play.

Jasper Johnson and Peterson are friends and the former Woodford star admitted he was eager to play against him. However, Johnson and Link dominated the game from the start.

CourtXIV CEO/founder Nate Conley put this homecoming matchup for Johnson together. Conley represents former UK star Oscar Tshiebwe as well as current UK player Rob Dillingham. Conley is also representing Jasper Johnson.

Conley reached out to Dennis Johnson, Jasper’s father and Woodford County athletics director/football coach, about hosting this game as a tribute to central Kentucky sports icon Alvis Johnson, who passed away last summer.

“These young men are playing hard,” Conley told the near capacity crowd at halftime.  “The Johnson family are some of the best people I have ever come across. I would love a moment for Alvis and to honor him.”

It was that kind of night and I could just sense Alvis smiling as Jasper kept making 3-pointers, including one on a fast break where he could have driven the lane but took the 22-footer with confidence and knocked it down. Jasper also had a monstrous dunk.

“I am a lot like my dad,” Dennis Johnson, who spent most of the night greeting fans/friends/coaches who came to see his son play, said. “I am emotional but every day I think about what would my father want me to do. I wanted to put on the best event possible. I am a pleaser. I wanted everybody to have a good time.

“This was a great way to honor my father and my mother. She is the real glue of our family. It was good for her to see Jasper and that was more than enough reason to have this event.”