Jasper Johnson's commitment ceremony details have been finalized
Will Mark Pope land his first five-star as the head coach at Kentucky? We’re about to find out.
Jasper Johnson, the No. 11 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking, will make his commitment on Thursday, September 5 at 2:15 p.m. ET. The Lexington native will announce his choice at Woodford County High School with the ceremony open to the public, KSR has learned.
Johnson will choose between Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville and North Carolina with Bama, UK and UNC seen as the legitimate contenders coming down the home stretch of his recruitment.
The favorite? Kentucky holds an 89.6 percent lead with On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine with three expert picks favoring the Wildcats.
Travis Branham of 247Sports will host the commitment from Woodford County on Sept. 5.
What could he bring to the table in Lexington?
“Jasper Johnson is a lefty with nice size and good length. What he does is shoot the ball,” On3’s Jamie Shaw said of the five-star guard. “Johnson has deep range that extends well beyond the three-point arc, and he is at he’s best in catch and shoot or with one/two dribble pull-ups. Would like to see Johnson tighten the handle, can struggle once he is in the paint, especially going right. Lacks blow by burst off the bounce at this point but he is a good straight line athlete with a head of steam. Has a crafty lay-up package around the basket, especially with the left hand. Solid explosion with a running start. Can get beat off the bounce in the open floor on defense. Will use both hands to dribble, but most of the time it comes back to his left hand. The range extends well beyond the three-point arc. Plays with a lot of confidence.”
KSR caught up with Johnson at Peach Jam back in July where he shared his thoughts on each of the top contenders in his recruitment.
Alabama: “Coach (Nate) Oats, they produce every year at the guard position. They give their guards a lot of freedom, take a lot of threes. And they play defense, as well. Coach Oats has been recruiting me since my eighth-grade summer, going into my freshman year. They were the first Power Five school to offer me, so we’ve been building a relationship for a long time now.”
Kentucky: “Coach (Mark) Pope is always pitching to me that he wants to hang a banner, so coming in and making a big impact from day one. He’s telling me he wants me to come in and have a big role on their team. Hearing that is good.”
North Carolina: “Growing up watching basketball, there are lot of great players with great basketball everywhere. Just watching them growing up as a kid, I was always very interested in their program. To see that they’re recruiting me now, it’s a great opportunity and a blessing. (They’re saying) that they really want me to be the first commit and take that guard position.”
Now we know exactly when an announcement is coming for Lexington’s own.
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