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Freshman Jasper Johnson had been waiting for his chance to show what he could do for the Kentucky basketball team, and he finally got it Saturday.
After not playing in a loss to Missouri and getting only limited minutes in wins over Mississippi State and LSU, Kentucky needed him Saturday at Tennessee when starting point guard Denzel Aberdeen picked up two fouls in less than three minutes.
Kentucky was down 7-2 when coach Mark Pope put Johnson into the game, and less than 30 seconds later, he hit a 3-pointer. After an 11-0 run gave Tennessee a 20-8 lead, Johnson hit a fast-break 3-pointer. About 90 seconds later, he hit a floater in the lane to cut the lead to 22-16.
“He has started the game on a heater, and Kentucky needed that,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said.
A Johnson assist helped cut the lead to 25-18 before Pope took him out after his best eight-minute stretch of the season. By the time Johnson got back into the game, Kentucky was down 38-24 with less than five minutes left in the half. However, he hit another floater and helped cut the halftime deficit to 42-31, going 4-for-5 from the field and scoring 10 points.
Johnson did not play as much in the second half but still finished with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting — 2-for-3 from 3 — along with four assists (three in the second half), and two rebounds. Kentucky was a +4 with him in the game.
“Jasper has been patient all year with his minutes,” UK senior teammate Mo Dioubate, who had 10 points and six rebounds, said. “I tell him his time would come and to be ready. He stays in the gym and watches film, and when his name was called, he was ready.”
Kentucky coach Mark Pope said Johnson was “great tonight” on the UK Radio Network postgame show. However, it was not his shooting or assists that pleased Pope the most.
“One of the things he is growing into is playing through the physicality with guys bumping him in the chest. One possession in the second half, he got stuck in traffic and refused to give it up, and kicked it out. It was not a SportsCenter play, but it was important,” Pope said. “He is coming.”
Former UK All-American Jack Givens said during the postgame show that he liked the confidence Pope had in Johnson immediately when Aberdeen, who finished with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting, got into early foul trouble.
“When Aberdeen gets the second foul, I am thinking it is Jasper time, but that was just me,” Givens said. “Before I got my thoughts completed, Mark grabbed him and said let’s go. I think the confidence Mark and the staff showed goes a long way in building him up. I see him often and tell him every time to be ready, and he certainly was today.”
I think he has been ready and hopefully showed at Tennessee he can handle a bigger role if needed, with starting point guard Jaland Lowe out for the season with his shoulder injury.
“I know Jasper wanted more minutes in the second half. I get that,” Givens, a starter on UK’s 1978 national championship team, said. “He is a competitor. He wants every minute he can get. But I think even Jasper can look at and see how Aberdeen stepped up in the second half (and scored 18 points) and was a big reason Kentucky won. But definitely Kentucky got a big contribution from Japer.”
3 Responses
I know I sound like a broken record, but Johnson needs to play more. So does Jelavic and Noah. I guess Pope is still pissed at both of them. We were lucky yesterday…Aberdeen was in full hero mode again, but this time he caught fire and won the game for us. We will lose more than we will win if he keeps doing that. Aberdeen, Dioubate, Garrison, and Oweh need to have a checkup from the neck up. Until they get in sync with the rest of the team, we will see more Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…which persona will win out?
Hats off to JJ for saving his best for last at a time when desperately needed. Jelavic I believe only played a minute or so 2nd half and that is bewildering but Pope continues see how many guys he can substitute at the expense of contribution. Jelavic should be playing more physical than he has because of European style but always gives a steadier contribution than Garrison. Garrison continues to be the weakest link on this team. Maybe Chandler now deciding this is his time to put his best out there. Noah is a little harder to read. We all know he has the shooting ability but may be thinking more about transfer destination.
Well I don't like the in out subbing either BUT it appears to be working and it seems some of egos are figuring out that when these egos in get in the way of playing for each other thats when we start playing like it's a Chinese fire drill. That being said I think coach Pope is doing what he needs to do with this bunch and yes the injuries are playing a very big part on how this team but give him some props for how he is getting these guys to play for each other. Just my opinion..
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