Five-star guard Jasper Johnson — the No. 12 player in the 2025 class — has committed to Kentucky, giving Mark Pope his first five-star commit as the Wildcats’ coach.
Johnson picked UK over North Carolina and Alabama.
In some ways, Johnson committing to the Cats seemed like a foregone conclusion: His father, Dennis, was a Kentucky football star, and the family lives about 15 minutes from Rupp Arena in Lexington. But when Hall of Fame coach John Calipari left for Arkansas in the spring, Johnson’s recruitment became much less of a slam dunk. Suddenly, the hometown favorite was competing with another blue blood in UNC, as well as a “new blood” in Alabama, fresh off its first Final Four appearance. Johnson grew up a Tar Heels fan, and those feelings grew after he attended a UNC-Duke game last season.
But in the end, the 6-foot-4 guard chose to stay home, and he should compete to start his first season on campus. Pope has yet to win a single NCAA Tournament game as a coach — one of the few major sticking points when his alma mater hired him — but by landing Johnson, he immediately proves that the talent pipeline to Lexington isn’t going anywhere. Of course, compiling talent was never Calipari’s issue at UK, but how he used those pieces (or rather, didn’t) agitated the fan base. Pope was in the opposite situation: clearly an X’s and O’s guru but a top recruiter? You had to see it to believe it.
What does Johnson bring to UK?
And now Kentucky fans have, albeit in a one-player sample size. So, what kind of player are they getting in Johnson? He’s a dynamic scorer who can get hot and single-handedly take over games. Johnson — who transferred to Overtime Elite in Atlanta for his senior season — will need to work on his shot diet at the next level, eliminating some of the tough or contested looks he currently takes, but only so many high schoolers in the country can make those attempts in the first place. Plus, being in OTE’s facility will allow him to bulk up before his freshman season — not unlike what the organization did for one of Kentucky’s most recent stars, Rob Dillingham.
Johnson told The Athletic at Peach Jam that he believes he can play some point guard, and Pope undoubtedly will put the ball in his hands at times. Still, with his scoring tendencies, Johnson is probably more of a natural off-ball guard.
Johnson is now the second highest-ranked player to commit from the 2025 class, behind only point guard Darius Acuff (No. 4 overall), who pledged to Arkansas and Calipari this summer.
Required reading
(Photo: USA Today)