One of the tightest recruiting battles Kentucky basketball has seen in a while was the one for five-star guard Jasper Johnson. He is ranked as the 16th best player in the 2025 class according to 247Sports composite rankings, but when watching him play for Overtime Elite, it’s hard to believe there are 15 players better than him.
Johnson’s recruiting battle was a stressful one for the Kentucky coaching staff and Big Blue Nation as many believed he would pick either Alabama or North Carolina. Kentucky was in third behind these two schools but was able to make up ground and the Wildcats landed Johnson.
This was the win on the recruiting trail that really proved Coach Pope is a great recruiter which was a question many had when he took the Kentucky job.
Since all of this recruiting drama, Johnson has officially signed with the Wildcats, and he was greeted with a Rupp Arena standing ovation during the WKU game when he was brought on the court.
Johnson is the perfect fit for Coach Pope’s system at guard because he is a lights-out shooter, but at the same time, he is a great athlete and lockdown defender.
Johnson is going to be the next one-and-done talent for Kentucky and will likely be the first one-and-done player of the Pope era. Knowing Johnson is a Kentucky native, and his dad played football for the Wildcats, Kentucky fans will love watching him dawn the blue and white.
Let’s take a look at the standing ovation Johnson got at the WKU game.
