With seemingly ground to make up in the homestretch of the recruitment of 5-star shooting guard Jasper Johnson, Kentucky isn’t going down without a fight.
The Wildcats hosted the Versailles native and Wildcats legacy for another unofficial visit where he met with the new UK staff on campus Thursday morning, CatsPause.com has confirmed. Johnson was also in attendance at Rupp Arena to watch the Kentucky alumni team of La Familia compete in the TBT last week.
The No. 10 overall prospect in the 2025 class according to the industry average 247Sports Composite, Johnson recently named a top five consisting of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and North Carolina with a decision expected in the coming weeks.
This summer, Johnson has taken numerous unofficial visits to Kentucky, one to North Carolina and official visits to Illinois and Alabama.
There are currently no predictions on Johnson’s 247Sports Crystal Ball but 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham sees it as a three-horse race.
“This recruitment is becoming a battle between North Carolina and Alabama. Kentucky remains involved,” Branham said. “Obviously, he is from just 30 minutes down the street in Woodford County where he was born and raised. Took an unofficial visit there recently but also came off an official visit to Alabama and based on what I’m hearing, it seems like Alabama could be the team to beat. North Carolina is very, very deeply involved It seems there is heavy mutual interest and this will be one battle we will continue to monitor in the weeks ahead.”
New Kentucky coach Mark Pope has also done his part, making Johnson a top priority. First, Pope was courtside to watch Johnson play for Team Thad at the Nike EYBL stop in Indianapolis, then in Colorado Springs for the United States U18 trials over Memorial Day Weekend, and then in Buenos Aires as Johnson helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Argentina. Pope also watched Johnson at the KABC Titans-Rockets Shootout in Shelbyville in addition to hosting him on a number of unofficial visit to campus.
After originally starting his high school career at Woodford County, Johnson then transferred to Link Academy in Branson, Mo. before recently announcing he will spend his final season with Overtime Elite in Atlanta.
247Sports Scouting Report: Jasper Johnson is a southpaw scoring guard who has spurts of extreme tough shot-making when he gets hot. He has a super soft natural touch and is very crafty around the lane with a deep bag of runners, floaters, and other types of finishes, in addition to the jumpers and step-backs he’s capable of making from the perimeter. Physically, Johnson is lean, but he’s very long with a recorded +5 wingspan. In addition to building up his body, he also needs to learn to impact the game more when the ball isn’t in his hands, or more specifically, when he’s not on one of his scoring sprees. – Adam Finkelstein
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