Jasper Johnson has played in all-star showcase games across the country since his Overtime Elite season ended and even spent a week in California training with some of the nation’s elite high school and college players, including Duke’s Cooper Flagg.

Johnson is now on campus at Kentucky starting to prepare for his freshman season under coach Mark Pope. However, he recently held a free meet-and-greet with Kentucky fans at Playa Bowl in Lexington.

“It was really, really good,” Johnson said. “Got to meet a lot of fans and signing autographs for some people was really cool. There are a lot of good people in the city who have supported me and people also came from other places.

“Knowing how big this fanbase is and how much these people really care about us each and every day is amazing.”

Johnson said he would “definitely” like to do other events like that when time permits.

“I feel it is always good to go out and meet people. Networking but also hearing people’s different stories is cool,” the 6-4 guard said. “Some people were fans of my father (former UK all-SEC defensive lineman Dennis Johnson) and were telling me stories about him, so that’s always good, too.”

Jasper Johnson also continues to appreciate the lessons he learned from his late grandfather, Alvis Johnson. He has a tattoo on his calf honoring Alvis Johnson, the long-time football and track coach at Harrodsburg High School as well as the school’s athletics director.

“My grandfather always told me to play and fear nobody,” Jasper Johnson. “He was one of the people who really introduced me to sports. He coached my dad and uncle and a lot of great athletes at Harrodsburg. Every time I go back (to Harrodsburg) everybody’s telling me how great he was as a person and a coach.

“I know he’s living through me and watching me. He’s in the back of  my mind every time I go on the court. My grandfather was a great man and he left a great legacy.”

Newest Cat grew up a fan

Huntington Prep coach Arkell Bruce understood that “nobody was hot on the recruit trail” for wing Braydon Hawthorne when the 2024-25 high school basketball season started.

The 6-8, 175-pound Hawthorne eventually committed to play for West Virginia. The Beckley, W.Va. native made his official visit to West Virginia before the season started and other coaches got to see the improvement he made. However, when coach Darian DeVries left to take the head job at Indiana, Hawthorne re-opened his recruitment.

He was a life-long Kentucky fan and UK had always been his dream school.

“Even though he grew up in West Virginia, these guys follow pros and highly ranked guys,” Bruce said. “Coach (John) Calipari did a great job marketing his players and showing off the lottery picks he had at Kentucky. He was probably a John Wall fan.

“They did have exciting teams with players like Patrick Patterson, Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson. So he was pretty excited when Mark Pope and his staff reached out when he decommitted from West Virginia.”

Pope actually saw Hawthorne play against UK signee Jasper Johnson in a showcase game at Woodford County.

“When his recruitment opened back up, Pope jumped on him,” Bruce said. “Pope is very relatable, very approachable. He really enjoyed getting to know him.

“Braydon really got so much better this year. It was just one of those things that people (coaches) were fixated on the usual suspects going into the season but once the dust settled he played with more confidence and free will.

“We played a lot of big-time events with a lot of eyes on him and everybody loved him. That’s why he jumped up so much in the recruiting rankings. He got better but it was also the right people seeing him at the right time and understanding how well he can shoot the ball with the length he has.”

Woods says Pope has to get defensive

Sean Woods did not play with Mark Pope at Kentucky but he knows plenty about Pope and closely watched his first season as UK’s head coach.

Woods, one of “The Unforgettables” who played for coach Rick Pitino, liked what Pope did to get UK to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 with a new roster but he does think Pope has to make one change in year two.

“He has to change on the defensive end,” Woods, who has over 20 years of college coaching experience and will coach LaFamilia in the TBT, said. “Starting off he has got to hone in on teaching defense.

“I know that is not his forte, but he has got to put more emphasis on defense than last year. I think he thought he could out offense SEC teams and shoot 3’s and outscore them. Now he realizes how tough and physical the SEC is because Kentucky got embarrassed in some games last year.

“This year he has brought in tough, physical guys that come from big-time programs. They may not shoot the ball as well but they will be tougher and more physical which is what you need in the SEC.”