Jasper Johnson, Tay Kinney begin OTE season with strong performances

It’s only been two games, but the backcourt duo of Kentucky commit Jasper Johnson and Kentucky target Tay Kinney sure looks dangerous.

Johnson and Kinney both play for Rod Wave Elite (RWE) of Overtime Elite, which began the 2024-25 season over the weekend with back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. The two Bluegrass natives scored at least 18 points a piece in both games, although in close losing efforts. Johnson is considered a five-star class of 2025 guard while Kinney is a four-star class of 2026 guard.

On Friday in an 85-80 loss to YNG Dreamerz, Johnson stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals while shooting 6-17 from the field and 1-6 from long range. Kinney was more efficient with his stat line of 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists while going 9-12 overall from the floor. He missed his lone three-point attempt, generating all of his points from inside the arc.

They were arguably even better on Saturday in a 97-93 loss to the City Reapers. Johnson posted 20 points, seven assists, and three rebounds 7-14 shooting, including a 4-8 clip from deep. Kinney went for 26 points, eight assists, and three rebounds on 9-19 shooting. He lit up from long range in this one with a 6-11 mark from beyond the arc.

Despite the loss, Jasper Johnson (@BruhJasperJ) & Taylen Kinney (@Taylen_0) showed they have what it takes to go all the way with RWE 👀🔥

They face off with the City Reapers tonight apart of Day 2 of @OvertimeElite’s opening weekend 🙌

(🎥 @justinbrosemer) pic.twitter.com/mOtJGLoDdI

— GREENLIGHT MEDIA (@atlgreenlight) November 2, 2024

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope certainly got lucky when Johnson and Kinney were drafted to the same OTE team. Pope was able to land Johnson’s commitment in early September despite having to make up a ton of ground after being hired in April. The Lexington native is ranked as the No. 14 overall senior in the country by the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s one of three 2025 commits for Pope along with four-star center Malachi Moreno and four-star guard Acaden Lewis, a group that ranks third in the nation.

Now playing together as teammates, Johnson has put on his recruiting hat with Kinney, who received an offer from the Wildcats in August. The point guard from Newport, KY is ranked as the country’s No. 21 overall junior by the On3 Industry Ranking. Kinney is one of just 10 class of 2026 prospects to hold a UK offer.

Johnson and Kinney will continue to develop on-court chemistry throughout the rest of the season, and hopefully, Johnson can convince Kinney that following him to Kentucky is the move. RWE returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 9 against Fear of God Athletics at 5:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on YouTube.