Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: Cats land electric guard Jasper Johnson

Kentucky picked up a commit from five-star, 2025 guard Jasper Johnson as Mark Pope continues his strong recruiting track. He’s their second five-star recruit of the cycle, joining center Malachi Moreno. The Wildcats haven’t skipped a note without John Calipari on the recruiting side. And they’ll hope Johnson continues the gilded history of Kentucky guards.

This past summer playing for Team Thad on the Nike EYBL circuit, Johnson averaged (per Synergy) 19.1 points, 3.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game on 50.7% true shooting. His efficiency dipped playing as his team’s primary perimeter offensive option, though it’s easy to spin these reps as a positive for his long-term development.

Young players must learn through mistakes. Johnson has experience as a more efficient, lower-usage option. Playing for a powerhouse at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, Johnson’s efficiency as a shooter and a playmaker increased next to elite perimeter talent in Tre Johnson and Labaron Philon.

Shooting is Johnson’s feature trait. Don’t let the poor numbers from this past EYBL season fool you; Johnson shot just 27.5% (25-91) from deep, though the historical data and underlying shooting indicators paint a more favorable picture. Percentages across the board are much lower for youth players, as it’s harder to score efficiently with less talented teams, often underdeveloped offensive schemes and poor spacing.

Johnson has a positive track of shooting goodness, canning 35.4% (70-198) of his triples with Link Academy this past season. His free-throw shooting goodness over the last calendar year (84.7%, 100/118) provides further optimism for Johnson’s shooting development. He took on a challenging shot diet this summer without other high-volume perimeter scorers this summer which also contributed to his deflated efficiency.

His shot versatility and volume (.45 3par, 7.6 3pa/game) project Jasper as a possible elite shooter going forward. He’s a dynamic shotmaker on and off of the ball, pulling off of the dribble off of a variety of platforms and sprinting off screens from NBA range. That meshes especially well with Pope’s high-tempo, volume shooting offense, where Johnson will excel in early offense.

Johnson may lack the requisite burst and downhill separating ability to become a genuine primary creator. He’ll thrive in Kentucky’s early offense looks, firing threes from range and leveraging the threat of his shot to drive. The floater is Johnson’s preeminent scoring weapon off of the dribble. He’s a ridiculously efficient intermediate scorer, dropping in 43.5% of his floaters on high volume over the last calendar year.

Given some of Johnson’s strength-related limitations as a finisher, exercising more control playing off of two feet could help spike his efficiency. Jasper would need significant size, strength and explosion development to reach elite finisher status. He should see easier finishing looks playing at Kentucky than he ever has, which should increase his efficiency there.

For Team Thad this Summer, Johnson’s decision-making waned as a primary ball-handler. Johnson’s 0.85 assist-to-turnover ratio is somewhat reflective of this, as he wasn’t as efficient with these touches as you’d hope. When Johnson drove, he’d often keep his eyes glued to the rim regardless of the defensive looks.

Primary ballhandling requires a different approach than playing off-ball. Young handlers often struggle to blend their scoring and playmaking goals together into a cohesive offensive product. With Johnson as a primary handler, he’ll too often ignore wide-open shooters and cutters in favor of low-percentage runners. That’s where Johnson sits, though Mark Pope’s motion offense should aid this.

Johnson’s playmaking shines brightest when he’s working off of the ball. He’ll curl into the paint and pick apart tilted defense with solid enough vision and skill on his deliveries. Johnson’s intermediate game commands defensive attention, especially when screens place defenders behind the play.

On the defensive end, Johnson makes plays with his length as a pass-lane jumper and can contain the ball with above-average lateral quickness. He shares many common weaknesses with most high-profile guards his age, notably his athletic concerns, strength and attentiveness. Pope teams tend not to be elite defensively and most guards his age struggle on the defensive end.

It’s reasonable to expect a legit contribution from the jump for Johnson at Kentucky. He’s a bit older for his class, turning 20 in March of his draft year (if he is to be a one-and-done). His status as a one-and-done depends on how seamlessly he can toggle on and off ball and how much he creates and scores as a slasher. I’m honestly not confident in projecting his one-year college outcome.

Jasper Johnson is undeniably an excellent add and a strong second piece for Kentucky the 2025 recruiting class. They’ll hope to contend in year one with a veteran roster and Johnson seems likely to contribute as an off-ball shotmaker at the very least.