Jasper Johnson has an “incredible skill set” from all that UK coach Mark Pope has seen. (USA Basketball Photo)
Jasper Johnson is a 6-foot-4 guard with elite shooting skills who has strong family connections to Kentucky and has proven himself on a national level the last two seasons as well as in recent national all-star games.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope targeted Johnson almost immediately in his 2025 recruiting class after he got the job at Kentucky and now has huge expectations for the incoming freshman who played with Overtime Elite last season.
“I think Jasper Johnson is a superstar. I expect him to come in here and be great,” Pope said last week.
That’s how Pope answered my question about his expectations for Johnson next season. While Pope always is positive about individual players, that was a strong endorsement for a player who has not even gone through a college practice.
“For every freshman, there is a learning curve in terms of the physicality and intensity of the game, the relentless physicality and intensity of the game. But Jasper Johnson has got a really, really incredible skill set. He’s one of those guys,” the Kentucky coach said. “There are very few players who just go get a shot whenever they want it. He can do it.”
He averaged 20.3 points, 5.8 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game last season while shooting 59 percent from 2-point range and 36 percent from 3. However, Pope heaped praise on Johnson’s defensive ability as well.
“He’s got an ability to get skinny and kind of do things defensively that are going to be surprising,” the Kentucky coach said. “I think he’s got an incredible upside on the defensive side of the ball also. I think he’s got a crafty, slippery nature where he can get downhill.”
Johnson is best known for his deep shooting range and also ability to find ways to finish at the rim. Corey Frazier, his coach at Overtime Elite, had him lifting weights almost every day during the season to add strength so he could finish through contact better in college. Frazier knew versatility was important to be able to succeed in college and knew even though he was an elite shooter from deep, he had to find ways to get better shots and he did this season.
“Jasper was pretty mature already when he got here and I just wanted to make sure he understood the truth of collegiate basketball,” Frazier said. “Jasper had to learn to understand this is a business in college and it is not just about you. High school can be about you but you are not the only five-star guy at Kentucky.”
Johnson, 19, obviously must have learned all those lessons based on what Pope believes.
“He’s got a poise about him. He’s a little bit unflappable. He’s able to kind of metabolize a lot of input and kind of keep himself even-keeled,” the Kentucky coach said. “I think he’s a big shot maker. I expect him to be, like he needs to come here and be great, and that’s what he wants to do. That’s what we want from him.”
Johnson has continued to put in the work even after his Overtime Elite season ended but also made one major business move. He signed with CAA Sports, the same agency that represents NBA stars Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns and many others including NFL stars Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley. The client list also includes major league baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
He went straight from the Allen Iverson Classic Johnson where he had 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the All-American showcase to the west coast to train thanks to arrangements made by CAA Sports.
He got to work out with Auburn All-American Johni Broome and Duke All-American Cooper Flagg. Both were candidates for national player of the year. Flagg is the consensus pick to go No. 1 in the upcoming NBA Draft .
Another Duke star, Tryese Proctor, was also at the pre-draft workouts along with Mackenzie Mgbako of Maryland, Andrew Meadow of Boise State and Emmanuel Stephen of UNLV.
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The more Pope makes statements like this, the more likely it will be that Oweh stays in the draft. If he goes undrafted, he will try to make a G league team as free agent. If Oweh were to return, it would be to be the focal point of the offense to make a push to be a first round pick next year. That would mean reduced PT for Johnson who, with all of this talk, will be focused on being one and done. Pope wants to have a 12 deep roster, but has yet to master the art of selling subordinate roles. You don’t do it by making promises that you can’t keep, so my take from these statements is that Pope is convinced that Oweh is not coming back.
JJ is the highest ranked recruit that Mark Pope has ever had. That’s probably why he’s so high on him and because there is no denying the kid has talent. Is he ready to lead the team in scoring as a freshman in the SEC no way. I look at Jaspers game and see a 2 and done. He has alot to work on until he’s ready to play with professionals. He needs to work on his defense this year and try to get better every game. Then take his sophomore year and polish his offense. Then he will be ready. If he was a true one and done he would at least be ranked in the top 8 in his class and even being ranked that high doesn’t promise anything. Bradshaw and Wagner were guaranteed one and dones and they are about to be juniors and still haven’t conquered college basketball. The one good thing about NIL is more and more top freshman are coming back to college. Unless you dominate like Cooper Flagg did for Duke this year the pros know there is always something you can work on. I think Otega Oweh comes back. He’s definitely not a first round pick and that is something he has said will have to happen in order for him to leave. The only thing I can think could happen could he transfer to another team with a bigger money bag for him? Idk but Oweh isn’t on any draft boards for first or second round even Brea is considered to go in the second round. How Brea would get picked over Oweh baffles me and absolutely has everything to do with shooting the basketball. Because every other category Oweh is night and day better than Brea. Maybe they want to see if Oweh can improve on his shooting against inferior competition. If he can’t do it then he probably won’t be able to do it in the NBA. Remember Jax Robinson held out to the end last year and he’s not even on any mock drafts either. So if Oweh doesn’t improve his jump shot and his numbers take a dip with a better team he might not get drafted next year. Its all on him and his shooting to where he ends up. If he can shoot 37-40% at 3 he will get drafted next year because he’s great on defense and there will always be a place for you if you can keep your man from scoring.
If Pope is going to use guys the right way he needs to redshirt them and give them a extra year to get caught up. Noah should be a redshirt freshman this year and he is going to be so much better this year and I still don’t see him playing alot of minutes. He could have used his red shirt year to get his strength up then competed for a handful of minutes this year and he would have a major role as a redshirt sophomore then start for 2 years!? Why Not? I called him and Perry to redshirt last year and they would have if it weren’t for injuries. Perry seen the writing on the wall and wanted to play and I salute him. If Noah would have played for South Carolina last year he would have played 12-18 minutes per game and would be alotw better right now from it.
Lots of conjecture – the Pope will play the best combo for “the 9th”.
They leave, they leave. Much unlike Cal.