Jason Crowe Jr. “for sure” taking Kentucky visit, Jason Hart “plays a big part on where I'm going”

By now, you’ve probably heard about Jason Hart‘s relationship with the Crowe family — and what that means for Kentucky‘s chances with No. 6 overall recruit and No. 3 shooting guard Jason Crowe Jr.

It’s not something the Crowes try to hide — or can hide, for that matter. Jason Crowe Sr. and Hart go back three decades as former Inglewood High School teammates and lifelong friends, the five-star guard saying the UK assistant is “like my uncle.”

“That’s just family right there, that’s really like my uncle right there,” he previously told KSR. “… When you have people that you know there and you know how they move, they’re in there just to help you. Having him there, it definitely helps me look at Kentucky with a different eye.”

“Everybody knows Jason Hart is one of my best friends, so Kentucky is right there,” Crowe Sr. added. “They’ve been there.”

That family dynamic comes up in essentially conversation as it relates to the 6-3 scorer’s recruitment, a general assumption from the beginning that Crowe Jr. would be with Hart wherever he landed, even before he made the move to Lexington with Mark Pope last offseason.

Is that fair? Does talking about Hart and his impact on the big decision ever get old? How does he navigate other schools pushing to get involved — as you’d expect them to, considering his status as a top-10 talent in the rising senior class?

He knows it’s impossible to downplay the relationship when the relationship will, in fact, play a part in his commitment. It’s not the final deciding factor and there is a path for him to potentially land elsewhere, but it’s absolutely a factor.

“I mean, it’s definitely a thing I have to talk about, obviously,” Crowe Jr. told KSR in a one-on-one conversation at USA U19 Training Camp in Colorado Springs. “Everybody says that’s a big part — which it is. It plays a big part on where I’m going and stuff like that. But I still give other teams fair play.

“I can’t just go there because that’s family, I have to be fair to other coaches that are recruiting me and pick their brain, see where everybody is and find the best fit for me.”

What does a fair shot from Crowe Jr. look like? How are things going in his recruitment beyond Hart’s pursuit and that relationship? Who are the other contenders for the leading scorer on the Nike EYBL circuit, currently averaging 23.8 points per game on 42/26/90 splits?

Some of the biggest names and coaches in college basketball continue to push — Kentucky included in that list of schools prioritizing him at the moment.

“It’s been going good so far, just trying to take it all in. I’m taking it one day at a time, talking to my people and stuff like that,” he said. “Definitely Alabama, Kentucky, USC, Texas and Baylor. I mean, they all just want a guard with confidence that can go and that doesn’t have to just facilitate and run plays all the time. Someone who can play with free pace.”

He was able to display some of those traits at USA U19 Training Camp, working hands-on with two of the coaches on his top list — both serving as court coaches in Colorado Springs: Mark Pope and Nate Oats.

Crowe says he most wanted to show off his “high motor” because “I feel like I play among the best when I have a high motor and I have live legs.” That, and his silky-smooth lefty jumper — “my main shots are hard to guard,” he added.

As for what he wanted to show he had been working on and hopes to improve by the time he gets on campus — wherever that is? “Doing all the little things, just trying to be better at that. If that all folds into consistent play, I’ll be good.”

He was grateful for that learning opportunity with USA Basketball — and every step of his journey.

“It’s been good so far. I mean, obviously Coach Pope is here, and he’s been talking to me a lot. That’s been good so far. … It’s been good (with Oats, too). I’m just trying to take it in, day by day. I’m just really excited for this process in my life.”

Sticking with the Pope angle and his status as one of the top guards in the class of 2026, that’s something he keeps in mind when considering his options. We just saw a Kentucky guard win league MVP, Finals MVP and finish as the scoring champion for the first time in 25 years. The list of standouts at his position between All-Stars and max contracts wearing blue and white during their college days is long.

Hart is a draw, obviously, but don’t discount the Kentucky appeal, either.

“Obviously, they were dominant — dominant with guards. They had good guards growing up,” Crowe Jr. told KSR. “I mean, I always used to watch them during the March Madness and stuff like that, when they played Duke, all of that. Obviously, they had great guards like De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, and the list can go on and on. That’s just a great program and they have great guards. That’s one thing I keep in mind.”

Now it’s about seeing if there is a fit not only with the Wildcats, but all of the schools in regular contact and wanting to add one of the most dangerous scorers in the country. His plan is to see if he can fit in an official visit to a school in late June, followed by more after Peach Jam.

He’s still in the process of deciding who will get those visits, especially the first. No matter the order, though, Big Blue Nation doesn’t have much to worry about when it comes to locking in a trip to Lexington.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said of taking an official to Kentucky, adding a big grin.

Don’t expect things to drag on too long from there, either. He’ll knock out all of his visits and then transition into commitment mode.

That’s going to come in early winter.

“I’m trying to make my decision by like December or January, somewhere in that time frame,” he told KSR. “I just want to get that out of the way after talking it over with my family and my team with Excel (Sports Management).”

What’s going to push the winning school over the edge for his services?

“Obviously, the play style and the coaches,” Crowe Jr. said. “How the facilities are and how it best benefits me.”

Kentucky has a few factors playing in its favor — starting with the staff in J-Hart.