Hometown college basketball recruit visiting UK for high-profile matchup against Gonzaga

For the second consecutive weekend, the Kentucky men’s basketball program is hosting an elite class of 2025 recruit on an official visit.

After five-star combo guard Meleek Thomas was the guest of honor last weekend for UK’s home loss to Tennessee, another top backcourt prospect will be taking a visit to Lexington.

Five-star combo guard Jasper Johnson — a name that Kentucky basketball fans are already familiar with — will be visiting the Wildcats this weekend for UK’s showcase nonconference home game against Gonzaga as part of a surge in recruiting activity for the prep school junior.

A former standout player at Woodford County High School who led the Yellow Jackets to the semifinals of the Sweet 16 state tournament last year, Johnson has blossomed into a star college basketball recruit this season at Link Academy (Missouri).

Currently ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 12 overall player in the 2025 class, Johnson recently released a list of his top-10 schools that includes the following programs: Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, Southern California and West Virginia.

That UK made this list of college options for Johnson wasn’t a surprise.

His father is Dennis Johnson, the former Harrodsburg, University of Kentucky and NFL player who is now the head football coach and athletic director at Woodford County. Jasper Johnson’s uncle, Derrick Johnson, also played football for the Cats.

Johnson — who is listed by Link Academy at 6-foot-6 — was offered a scholarship by UK in May 2023. He’s one of 10 class of 2025 prospects with a Kentucky offer. UK has yet to land a commitment in the 2025 class.

Jasper Johnson develops talent at Link Academy

While Johnson’s talent was evident during his three varsity seasons at Woodford County, his game and national profile have been elevated since he transferred last summer to Link Academy, a prep powerhouse based in Branson, Missouri, that won the 2023 GEICO Nationals championship.

Johnson’s standout performances during the 2023-24 season for Link include the following:

▪ 10 points with three made 3-pointers against a star-studded Prolific Prep team (which features two top UK recruits) in December in Louisville.

▪ 13 points in December at the prestigious City of Palms Classic.

▪ 37 points with 10 made 3-pointers against fellow 2025 UK recruit Darryn Peterson during a homecoming win in January at Woodford County.

▪ 14 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists as part of a headline-grabbing performance last month in a win over IMG Academy (another team with a top 2025 UK target in guard Darius Acuff Jr.) at the Hoophall Classic.

“Jasper’s really learned how to play off the ball. He’s still extremely capable of playing on the ball, but I think now he’s taken that next step in his ability to play off the ball,” Link Academy head coach Bill Armstrong told the Herald-Leader. “Now he’s learning even more how to do that and continues to learn how to move off the ball and find open shots. He gets it off as quick as anybody in the country. When he gets it off, I think it’s going in every time. He’s one of the best shooters in the country and we try to get him open, try to find him.”

Johnson has routinely shown that he’s one of, if not the best, distance shooter in the 2025 class. But beyond that, Johnson’s array of offensive skills has grown since he arrived at Link’s basketball-focused environment.

The talent surrounding Johnson at Link also figures to have helped: Johnson’s Link Academy teammates include guard Tre Johnson (Texas signee), guard Labaron Philon (Kansas signee), small forward Jalen Shelley (Arkansas signee) and center James Brown (North Carolina signee).

“There are few players I’ve seen regularly practice as diverse and difficult shots with real reps as Jasper Johnson,” Zach Welch, an analyst for Pro Insight Basketball, told the Herald-Leader. “Whether it be off balance, off movement, beyond NBA range, and even off one foot, he prepares himself to be able to get his shot up off platform like few others. In the game, that gives him some tremendous off-ball gravity as a volume movement shooter.”

After watching Johnson play last month at the Hoophall Classic, the Herald-Leader asked Johnson about both his distance shooting prowess and his overall offensive development.

“I feel like I’ve really been a good shooter from distance for my whole life, really,” Johnson said. “Just staying in the gym, being consistent, watching a couple things on film, my feet, just working on the little things that can help my shot get even better. Making it go (up) faster, I know it’s a split second that I might be open for a shot or something, so just working on the little things (and) watching film myself and with my coaches.”

As far as his improvement as an off-ball player is concerned, Johnson credited his travel basketball experiences with Team Thad on the Nike EYBL circuit with getting him accustomed to this offensive approach.

“It was pretty easy. Coming from AAU, I play with a great team, great group of guys, so being off the ball, it really came easily to me,” Johnson said. “Just being unselfish. I know my teammates are great with the ball, so I know it will come back to me eventually throughout the play, so my coaches tell me to stay solid, play my role and it will come to me. And that’s what we’ve been doing all season.”

Jasper Johnson takes recruiting visits to North Carolina, UK and others

In addition to the recent release of his top-10 list, Johnson is also in the midst of several on-campus recruiting visits.

Johnson was at North Carolina last weekend to watch the Tar Heels defeat Duke at home. Next weekend, Johnson is planning to be at Auburn for the Tigers’ home game against Kentucky.

Before this flurry of recruiting activity, Johnson had previously taken official visits to Missouri and West Virginia, and unofficial visits to Alabama and Louisville. He was also at UK’s Big Blue Madness event in October.

“Really the communication with them (and) my family. Staying in touch. Their plan for me,” Johnson told the Herald-Leader last month of what separated the schools that made his top-10 list. “I plan on being in college for hopefully 10 months and then going to the league. I mean, that’s the plan so. Just a coaching staff that’s really investing and bought into me.”

What would an ideal fit for Johnson look like at the college level?

“The best fit for Johnson is a team that will leverage him as an off-ball shooter in constant movement, coming off screens tirelessly to occupy help defense,” Welch, the Pro Insight Basketball analyst, said. “Considering his shooting gravity and how much better he’s looked attacking closeouts (rather) than trying to create from a standstill, I think this setup would optimize his opportunities and maximize his impact on the team as a whole.”

Saturday

Gonzaga at No. 17 Kentucky

When: 4 p.m.

TV: CBS-27

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Gonzaga 17-6 (8-2 West Coast), Kentucky (16-6, 6-4 SEC)

Series: Tied 1-1

Last meeting: Gonzaga won 88-72 on Nov. 20, 2022, at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington

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