UK’S Johnson thinks he’s world’s best shooter
Published 9:00 am Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Freshman Jasper Johnson tried to give the right answer for the team when he was asked who is the best shooter on coach Mark Pope’s team.
“I would probably say Kam Williams. Trent Noah is shooting at a high clip,” Johnson said. “I’m always going to put myself as number one. I feel like I’m the best shooter in the world, but I’m putting my teammates first for the team chemistry to go up. I am just gonna say Trent Noah and Kam Williams are battling for number one.”
Johnson would not rate himself as the most physical player on the team. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound freshman was a top 20 national recruit and gold medal winner with USA Basketball, but understood he would have to adjust to the physicality of college basketball. That meant he had to add weight and his grandmother, Rosetta Johnson, helped with that.
“He would call and come over and a couple of times he came and stayed a few days. I would make him get up and eat because he loves to sleep. He also loves pancakes and bacon, just not pork bacon,” Rosetta Johnson said. “He will eat pancakes for breakfast. He will eat pancakes for lunch and then he will want them for dinner. He loves pancakes.”
These are pancakes about the size of a dinner plate and the UK freshman normally eats two with butter and pancake syrup.
“But he only likes the Kroger brand (of pancake syrup),” Rosetta Johnson said. “There are just a lot of regular things he doesn’t like to eat. He could care less about pork chops and says pork hurts his stomach. He loves seafood and chicken, but he really loves pancakes.”
He’s had to adjust his game on the court going against older, stronger players.
“I’m playing a lot of older guys. Maybe in high school I could maybe beat a double team or something,” Johnson said. “I am just trying to get stronger. I’ve been putting on a lot of weight and trying to manage that as well with my conditioning. That’s really what I’ve been adjusting to the most.”
After two years at Woodford County High School, he spent his junior season at Link Academy in Missouri and played with Overtime Elite in Atlanta last season, going against some of the nation’s best prep players in practice and games. Still, he said playing at UK and in the Southeastern Conference is a big step up.
“At prep school I played with some guys that went on to be (NBA Draft) lottery picks this past season like Trey Johnson,” the Kentucky freshman said. “Labaron Philon is also a great player at the University of Alabama I played with there. Getting to play against guys at that level for a whole year was a great thing that helped me grow my game.”
He also played with elite talent on Team USA last summer when he was part of the gold-medal winning team. He said he had to find his role on a team of five-star players and learn the system that the coaches wanted. It’s a similar situation at Kentucky.
“We haven’t really started the season yet, but coach (Mark) Pope is expecting me to score the ball at an efficient level, but to also play defense and try to guard the best player I know,” Johnson said. “The SEC contains a lot of really great guards. You have to have a defensive mindset first. I know my offense will take care of itself. I feel like we can have a great team and can hang a (national championship) banner.”
Since Johnson grew up in central Kentucky and his father, Dennis, is a former UK All-SEC football player, he knows plenty about UK basketball history. He knows former UK and NBA guard Rajon Rondo and even calls him “Coach” when referring to him.
“He’s been in my ear trying to give me advice and prepare me as much as he can for the season. He’s been a really good mentor for me,” Johnson said. “I’ve talked to John Wall a couple times here and there. He’s also been somebody who I could reach out to.
“Coming to Kentucky, everybody who’s been in this jersey will always be willing to give back to you and reach out to you.”
Johnson said at UK’s Media Day that he has some of Rondo’s game in him after talking with him.
“He’s one of the highest IQ point guards to maybe ever play the game. Watching film with him kind of opens up a different side of my brain about trying to learn my teammates, being in different places on the floor and what to do,” Johnson said.
The UK freshman said both Rondo and Wall emphasized that they know he can score but that he had to know his teammates and what they can do.
“We’re two or three deep in each position of guys who can score the ball or have NBA level talent,” Johnson said. “I know the game now is about being able to score the ball at a high level at the point guard position, but also being able to dish the ball off and read your teammates.”
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Otega Oweh came into last season at Kentucky with no big expectations being placed on him. He comes into his second season at UK being projected as a potential SEC Player of the Year after leading the Cats in scoring last season at 16.2 points per game and steals with 57. He scored in double figures in UK’s first 26 games.
“I’m just trying to play ball and enjoy it,” Oweh said about this season. “This is my last year, so I’m trying to do everything I can this year. I’m still going to work as hard as I can and then when the game comes, not worry about any of that. I’m blessed to have all of the expectations because I’ve never had them before but I’m trying to focus on the main things.”
Coach Mark Pope expects players to make a big jump in their second season in his system and Oweh believes that can happen for him.
“Your second year, you’re more comfortable because you’ve been here before. I know this offense,” Oweh said.
He also knows just how good he thinks this team can be based on what he said at UK’s Media Day.
“When you have a good team around you, everything feels good. I like where my team is right now. I’m ready to go. Every single day when we get in the locker room, we’re excited to get better, excited to compete. We have bonded really well,” Oweh said. “I’m really just trying to win a national championship. That’s the main goal for all of us.”
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Georgia Tech transfer Tonie Morgan is projected as the ninth pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft and came to Kentucky knowing that coach Kenny Brooks has a knack for developing point guards like he did with All-American Georgia Amoore at Virginia Tech and then Kentucky.
The 5-foot-9 Morgan has 95 collegiate starts and had 1,261 points along with 543 rebounds, 468 assists and 116 steals in 96 games at Georgia Tech. She averaged 13.7 points, 5.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last season while shooting 49% from the field.
“I didn’t want Tonie to feel like she had to be Georgia, and although we reference Georgia a lot in our conversations just because Tonie and I only have less than a year to build that chemistry, and so the blueprint has been what Georgia provided,” Brooks said.
“To Tonie’s credit, she has been magnificent as far as just understanding it, welcoming it, watching. We watch film of Georgia, and not just to praise Georgia, but Georgia did it in a way that Tonie wants to learn how to do as well.”
Morgan came to Kentucky to learn how to be a true point guard and prepare for the WNBA draft while helping Kentucky win this season.
“I commend her for just her coming in here, hearing Georgia’s name a lot but not letting it affect her and knowing that she’s still going to be Tonie, and we’re excited for what she’s going to be able to bring to us,” Brooks said. “She can do some things that Georgia couldn’t do, so it’s up to me to tap into those resources, and I’m excited for what she’s going to be able to do this year.”
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Kentucky volleyball doesn’t just have depth. Instead, it has quality depth.
“We have 14 players who can actually go in and make an impact. That’s not true for a lot of teams,” said UK assistant coach Kyle Luongo. “A lot of teams might have one person they feel good about throwing in off the bench where they still feel competitive if this person goes in. But we feel competitive if we even have to go three, four or five players deep into the bench.”
Kentucky (12-2 overall, 5-0 SEC) has wins over No. 5 Penn State, No. 10 SMU, No. 3 Louisville and No. 9 Texas A&M. The only losses have been to No. 1 Nebraska and then No. 7 Pittsburgh.
Kentucky has been a superb defensive team this season to go along with the big hitting from Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson, two of the nation’s best players. Kentucky averages over 14.5 digs per set led by libero Molly Tuozzo with Hudson and DeLeye second and third in digs.
“I think we have some pretty special people on the court. The offense is always going to garner a lot of attention because what’s going to stand out are the offensive plays and blocks,” Luongo said. “The ability to extend rallies by digging what the opponent is trying to bring your way is huge for any team.
“For being as powerful and dynamic as Eva Hudson is, she is an incredible defender because she’s invested a lot of time into developing those skills. Brooklyn has as well. We used to kind of tease Brooklyn that (defense) wasn’t a strength of her game but she took ownership of that. Her standard for herself is really high, so she has improved a ton in that area.
“Then when you surround those two in the back row with defenders like Molly Berezowitz, Molly Tuozzo and Ava Sarafa, you have a lot of opportunities to extend rallies and score with our offense. This has definitely been an area that has become stronger than maybe we anticipated so now it is just a matter of us utilizing that in a way where we can score more points.”
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Quote of the Week: “We don’t like Kentucky at all. It’s just like how it goes when you’re playing for separate teams whether you like it or not. But you do need that hatred in you if you play for either of the teams. Everywhere you go, like, people say, ‘Beat Kentucky’ or when you’re in Lexington people say, ‘Beat Louisville.’ That’s just kind of how people view the rich history,” Louisville forward J’Vonne Hadley at ACC Media Day, on the UK-Louisville rivalry.
Quote of the Week 2: “If you’d have asked five years ago, I might have said Will Smith, but now — let’s just keep it safe and say Denzel couldn’t mess up a movie, so I would say Denzel Washington. He’s fantastic. I think I look like him a little bit,” UK women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks, on what actor would play him in a movie.
Quote of the Week 3: “I think a lot of people didn’t think I would still come back once Cal left. This is the school I played for. Yes, Cal was my coach, and I love Cal to death, but this is the school that gave me an opportunity to get a D-I scholarship and reach my ultimate goal to play college basketball. This place, in my heart they’re always gonna have a place for me, and I’m always gonna be able to come back and support,” John Wall, on the SEC Network+ during his appearance at Big Blue Madness.
