Jasper Johnson, right, won a gold medal with USA Basketball this summer. (USA Basketball Photo)
When Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno were invited to tryouts for the USA U19 team, that gave Kentucky coach Mark Pope extra time with his players because he was an on-court coach during the tryouts.
It also enabled Pope to work with several major UK recruiting targets who were part of the USA Basketball tryouts.
“I was so happy to have the opportunity to go coach those guys because we’ve been waiting for so long to actually be on the court and be able to talk to them on the court with a ball,” Pope said. “I was so excited. I mean, I was looking forward to that from the day that we kind of made the arrangement.
“I got to go out there and be in some type of pseudo scrimmage game situation with both my guys. So that was fantastic. I loved every second of it. And then the opportunity to be there with incredibly talented kids.”
Analytics are part of everything Pope does, and he knew his numbers about the talent level at the USA tryouts.
“They invite 32 kids to the USA team to try out for the team. Over the last 10 years, 60 percent of the guys who’ve made the team have been drafted to the NBA, and 40 percent of the guys who have not made the team have been drafted in the NBA. That’s a crazy number,” Pope said.
“When you get to deal with great players like that, they’re usually almost without exception incredible human beings also because to make the sacrifice and do the work and have the commitment to get to that level, you usually have to be built pretty special. So what a joy as a coach to be able to go do that.”
Pope also enjoyed working with other college coaches whom he’s normally competing against.
“I loved everything about it. USA Basketball is transcendent. Anybody who gets one moment to be a part of it is blessed, not just by the history, but by the current product. So it was very special to me,” the UK coach said.
3 Responses
Just a thought – possibly most/all the top 5* players are looking at U.K. and thinking – they are 13 players deep, will I get my PT, is there a chance I won’t be a starter, will it hurt my one and done chances !? Should I go to a place where I’ll average 25 & 10 ? Most are concerned about the NBA rather than UK’s 9th.
You're right Paul. Jasper Johnson may be the first to regret coming to UK. Honestly, where will he get PT? At the point, Lowe and Aberdeen are 2 seasoned vets with Chandler doing mop up. The 2 spot has Oweh and Noah. Johnson will not beat out either for PT…he will be the mop up player. The 3 spot has Dioubate and Williams with Hawthorne moping up. Did Johnson really want to wear a Kentucky uniform? I guess we will find out in April when the transfer portal opens up. Jasper's second year may not get any easier. There is a good chance that either Lowe or Aberdeen or both will come back for the 2026/27 season. Oweh is certain to leave for the NBA, but Noah would be the heir apparent starter at the 2 spot, especially if he has the breakout season this year that everybody is predicting. There is a chance that either Dioubate or Williams or both could stay at the 3 spot; will Hawthorne be willing to ride the pine for another year?
When the high school seniors see these kids on the bench and not on the floor, they will start rethinking coming here. Pope needs to win No. 9 with this team and No. 10 in 2027. That will position Kentucky to replace Duke as the cool place to go for the Top 10 high school seniors, but as long as the transfer portal remains wide open, it would be silly for Pope to prioritize incoming Freshmen over seasoned upperclassmen. If NIL remains wide open, Pope will have to sell the college experience, education, being part of a national championship dynasty, improving their skills by practicing against the best, and big NIL money as a reason for coming to Kentucky and waiting a year or two to get serious PT.
That's a lot to put on a second year coach, but Pope can make it work.
Johnson will get plenty of playing time. He can can play 1 or 2 guard. He could be starting before years end. According to who you believe Ky is spending between 10 and 15 million on its roster this year. It's a business now. If a player doesn't meet expectations, his scholarship should not be renewed and he should be replaced.