Decision Primer: Jasper Johnson making college commitment later this week

It’s officially Jasper Johnson Week here at the KSR Recruiting Headquarters.

The five-star shooting guard is set to announce his college decision this Thursday, Sept. 5 at Woodford County High School in Versailles, KY. The ceremony, which will begin at 2:15 p.m. EST, is NOT open to the public. Johnson is technically down to Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and North Carolina, but this has long been a three-horse race for the Bluegrass native between Bama, UK, and UNC.

To say this recruitment has been a roller coaster in the public eye would be an understatement. Once Mark Pope replaced John Calipari in the spring, Kentucky quickly got to work re-recruiting Johnson, the No. 11 overall class of 2025 prospect per the On3 Industry Ranking. Pope and his staff had to work from behind but made up plenty of ground in a short amount of time, leaning on the hometown hero angle. Meanwhile, Alabama has been recruiting him longer than anyone else (the Crimson Tide was his first Power 5 offer) and North Carolina was his favorite school growing up.

Over the last several months, all three schools have been perceived as the “leader” at some point. Throughout August, the order of favorites seemingly changed every few days. Some last-minute NIL money was likely being thrown around. That being said, Kentucky heads into the week of his commitment in a great spot. Between On3, 247Sports, and Rivals, a total of eight predictions have been logged in favor of Johnson staying home to play for the Wildcats.

Suppose we want to read into this process even further (why stop now?). In that case, we’ll point out that the announcement is happening at the same high school Johnson attended before moving on to prep school — first to Link Academy (MO) and most recently to Overtime Elite (GA). Johnson is a native of Lexington whose father and uncle attended/played UK and whose late grandfather is a local legend. His mom is also a Yeast. Wearing blue and white runs deep in the family — and the Kentucky staff knows it.

“Coach Pope is always pitching to me that he wants to hang a banner, so coming in and making a big impact from day one,” Johnson told KSR in July. “He’s telling me he wants me to come in and have a big role on their team. Hearing that is good.”

“I feel like Coach Pope has been really pushing to me that I really am one of the best guards in the country, if not the best,” he added. “Me being from there, it gives me a plus. He’s really pitching both sides — he wants me to stay home, but he’s also prioritizing me because I’m one of the best players in the country.”

Kentucky already has one in-state recruit on the board in Malachi Moreno, a four-star, 7-foot center from Great Crossing in Georgetown, KY, who committed last month. And even he wasted no time making a pitch to Johnson with one simple message: “It’s like they say, there is no better place than home.”

We’ll find out in a few days if Johnson agrees. Landing him would be quite the recruiting statement for Pope in his first offseason as head coach.