Jasper Johnson with family members at the Nike Hoop Summit. (Dennis Johnson Photo)
Many times when Dennis Johnson goes to watch his son, Kentucky signee Jasper Johnson, play basketball he will try to find a seat near the top of the gymnasium so he can watch the game and be alone with his thoughts.
He went to the Nike Hoop Summit to watch Jasper play for Team USA but the future UK guard got only five minutes of playing time and did not score. In last weekend’s Jordan Brand Classic, he played 16 minutes and finished with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting along with five rebounds and two assists.
Dennis Johnson, a former all-SEC defensive lineman at UK and an NFL player, said NBA scouts told him at the Nike Hoop Summit that practice performance was more important than game performance.
“If you got a chance to see he had a great week of practice. I got to see every practice and got a chance to talk to a few scouts in the scrimmage when everybody played 20 minutes. He was the second leading scorer on the team with equal playing time, so that was good,” Dennis Johnson said. “He just didn’t get a lot of playing time in the game but it is what it is.
“As upset as I was, I tell Jasper when you get your opportunities you have to be ready and that will be true at Kentucky. That was the big takeaway from the Nike game. That’s all part of his growth and development. There’s a lot of things that go on but I don’t get into all that because that’s not who I am.”
He told his son at the Jordan Brand Classic to have a good week of practice and see what happened. Dennis Johnson reminded himself of a quote he heard about if you focus too much on the future you forget what you were praying for only a few years ago.
“I realized I needed to enjoy some of the stuff more and so did Jasper. I’m so worried about the next step at UK and stuff, and I’m like, ‘Man, we worked since we’ve been six years old to try to get to some of these events, so I need to try to enjoy them.’”
Dennis Johnson knows once his son arrives on campus at UK in another month the “pressure ramps up again because there is no pressure quite like UK basketball” for any player.
“We’ve had a good time through this whole process with all Jasper has been able to do. We got to travel to Washington, D.D., and went sightseeing and did some shopping and so had a good experience,” Johnson said. “Overall I think it has all been a great experience for Jasper.
“He was upset about playing time at the Hoop Summit but sometimes that’s good. Sometimes you need it. Everything cannot always be roses. You need a little adversity to make you better. Overall these events have been a blessing for us because we wanted this opportunity for years and finally got it.”
5 Responses
I wasn’t sold on Johnson until I actually seen him play in person. Wow he’s more athletic than I thought he was and hes a great shooter. I wouldn’t be surprised if he snuck into the starting lineup over Aberdeen the only thing that sets them apart is defense. Aberdeen has better defense but he should he will be a senior. Johnson is going to make Pope play him more than what people are thinking. He has a smooth game. Very crafty and I think as of right now Aberdeen better step it up or Johnson is coming for his starting spot.
Kid looks like hes already been drafted in the NBA. That’s a 100k choker Cuban chain. With a 50k invisible set diamond charm maybe more than 50k, and he hasn’t even played in one game of college basketball. Must be nice!
How does St John’s rate a higher ranking than UK with all of our existing and recently acquired talent? How can we allow that to happen. Pitino is quality guy with still a lot in the tank but the Pope Mobile has got to reverse that.
Its a bias, they are rated higher by ESPN and 24/7… If we matched up with St. Johns, you would realize, their center, is smaller than our SF… they would get bullied like Arkansas did them.
Gotta lot of respect for his Dad. However, if what’s printed above is true it’s a bit diminished. That money should go into an S&P index fund and the rest into a 4.5% FDIC money market. Buy a nice mid size SUV and make your way to campus. What if you get a couple blown knees ?? And I know a lot about that.