Jasper Johnson with fans at his commitment ceremony last week. (Elaine Bailey/Woodford County Schools)
Jasper Johnson wouldn’t call it a “stressful” recruiting process before he finally gave his verbal commitment to Kentucky and coach Mark Pope last week.
“I was very patient and calm about my decision,” said Johnson on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports. “I wasn’t trying to let it stress me out. I felt Kentucky was the right move for me and where my heart was.”
While Kentucky football recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow did offer advice to Johnson during his recruitment, Johnson insisted it was not anything Marrow said that swayed him to pick Kentucky.
“He is family to me. I have known him a long time,” Johnson said. “He made a few jokes early on about coming to Kentucky, but he was not pressuring me. He told me to go where I would develop the most. He told me to keep basketball my main focus and to just go where my heart is and that was Kentucky.”
What about NIL? Several times during Johnson’s recruitment speculation surfaced that a lucrative NIL offer might impact which school he picked.
“NIL is part of college basketball now but it was not really on my mind. My parents and agent are taking care of that,” he said. “I was just trying to keep basketball the main focus and the next level (NBA) is when the bigger dollars come in. So I am just focusing on that now.”
However, he did acknowledge that there is a strong possibility he might soon sign a shoe contract.
“I have been talking to a couple of different brands and we are trying to work out some deals,” Johnson said. “My agent (Nate Conley) and parents are trying to get something sorted out and in the near future have something worked out with a shoe company.
“Different things going into deals. That’s why we are having negotiations with different brands to see what they have in mind for me in the future.”
North Carolina was one of Johnson’s final three schools and Michael Jordan is one of his favorite all-time players. Johnson even wore various Jordan shoes last year when he played at Link Academy (Missouri).
“I never got to meet Michael Jordan,” he said. “I do love sneakers and I would love to meet him but I did not.”
