Mark Pope watched Jasper Johnson drop 31 points at Woodford County High School
The brand-new Woodford County High School in Versailles, KY, which just opened earlier this month, was the host site for a great stretch of hoops on Sunday.
The headliner of the day’s tripleheader? Kentucky signee Jasper Johnson, who suits up for Overtime Elite’s RWE. In his first game back at Woodford County since committing to the Wildcats over the summer, Johnson led his squad to a tight 71-70 victory over Huntington Prep (WV). And he did it by dropping 31 points in front of his college head coach Mark Pope. Johnson was named game MVP for his efforts.
“It’s great,” Johnson said of Pope coming to watch him play. “I know they took a tough loss the other night. But he still comes out to support me and watch me play a game. Love Coach Pope. Can’t wait to play for him next season.”
Pope wasn’t the only Wildcat in attendance inside the pristine new high school building.
He was seated on the baseline next to Johnson’s future teammate, four-star center Malachi Moreno. Pope’s wife, Lee Anne, even made the trip and might have been Johnson’s most vocal supporter throughout the contest. Kentucky freshman Travis Perry was also in attendance, as was walk-on guard Grant Darbyshire. The new gym at Woodford County, which holds a little over 2,000 people, was packed to the brim to see Johnson in action.
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And Johnson put on a great show, too. He was raining down threes for RWE in a game that was competitive from start to finish. It won’t officially count toward his season stats with Overtime Elite, but the Top 20 prospect did a little bit of everything on offense for his team. With Johnson paired alongside 2026 guard Tay Kinney, who is also a priority UK target and scored 13 points, RWE was able to sneak out with the exhibition victory.
Johnson, Kinney, and Moreno were all at Rupp Arena together on Saturday night to watch John Calipari‘s return to Lexington, as well. The outcome wasn’t what the two Kentucky commits had hoped for, but the intense atmosphere already has Johnson looking forward to his time wearing the blue and white.
“It was great. Everything you want to imagine,” Johnson said of the Rupp Arena atmosphere. “Growing up in Lexington and going to games, I just can’t wait until I’m out there and get to play next year. Just looking forward to it.”
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