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How are things going for Lexington’s own Jasper Johnson in his third and final high school stop before taking his talents to the University of Kentucky? The five-star guard is enjoying his time at Overtime Elite and his development in Atlanta as he prepares for life in college as a Wildcat.

“I’m feeling good, really confident in myself,” Johnson said in a sit-down interview with the media at OTE this past week. “I know I’ve been putting in a lot of work on and off the court to better myself each and every day. Just trying to do what I can to prepare myself as much as I can for next year so whenever I step on the floor I’ll be able to make an impact from day one.”

He’s focusing on getting better, obviously, but he’s also keeping a close eye on Kentucky in Mark Pope’s first season with the Wildcats. In fact, he called the team’s upset win over Duke ahead of time — “I’m confident in Kentucky, for sure,” he said.

Big-picture, though, he’s thrilled with the vision he was sold before he committed coming to life now with the games rolling. It’s a player-friendly system that fires threes and scores at a ridiculous pace with efficiency, something he wants to be a part of next season back home in Lexington.

“It’s been exciting watching all our games, shooting a lot of threes and having a lot of excitement with a lot of freedom,” Johnson said. “I feel like my game will really go well with his offense, the way he’s been pitching it to me.”

The future Wildcat also talked about four-star guard Acaden Lewis joining the fold, recruiting five-star forward Caleb Wilson, pushing Newport, KY native Tay Kinney to sign with Kentucky in ’26 and championship expectations in blue and white. And then to wrap up the media session, Johnson’s coach, Corey Frazier, talks about the Lexington native’s development and what Big Blue Nation can expect from the dynamic scoring guard once he arrives on campus next summer.

Watch the complete sit-down interview (plus KSR’s practice highlights) below:

More Kentucky News and Views on the KSR YouTube Channel

Kentucky Sports Radio has expanded its coverage of the Wildcats in the most ridiculous manner possible on our YouTube Channel. Here you will be able to find interviews with coaches and players, as well as commentary from the KSR crew. From Rapid Reactions following big events to our lengthy lineup of live shows, subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything happening around the Big Blue Nation.

On Saturday, Kentucky Women’s Basketball beat Louisville for the first time in seven years. This win already solidified Kenny Brooks as one of Kentucky’s “greats,” and he did it in front of a sold-out Memorial Coliseum crowd.

The newly renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum holds 6,250 empty seats for fans from all walks to fill. Ticket prices range from $15 for general admission to more than $200 for lower-level reserved seating. Still, Big Blue Nation (and some Cardinal fans) managed to purchase every seat in the building. While there were some empty seats from folks who couldn’t make it, the crowd made up for it by being one of the best crowds Memorial has ever seen.

Before the game, lines outside the building wrapped around the block. Students stood outside hoping to claim some extra student section tickets, and fans with pre-purchased tickets waited eagerly to get inside. Fans showed up and showed out. In fact, this is what the stands looked like 20 minutes before tipoff…

Special guest appearances

Perhaps one of the least surprising and one of the most surprising things happened during last night’s game. As we know, Kentucky Men’s Basketball coach Mark Pope and women’s coach Kenny Brooks are pretty close. They were both hired this year to save two stagnant programs and have already written their names in the “Kentucky Wins to a Team They Haven’t Won Against Since 2015” book. Regardless of their status, members of the men’s team came to Memorial to support their Kentucky Basketball family.

Brandon Garrison, Kerr Kriisa, Andrew Carr, Ansley Almonor, Collin Chandler, Jaxson Robinson, and Amari Williams all showed up to last night’s rivalry matchup. While fans were excited to get women’s and men’s basketball action, BBN was also shocked by the presence of Kentucky-born rapper Bryson Tiller.

The “Don’t” singer was born and raised in Louisville and has been vocal about his Cardinal support for years. While he got his start in the music industry in 2011, Tiller went back to high school in recent years, earning his diploma from Iroquois High School in Louisville. Now, Tiller remains active with music but still finds time to support his Cardinals. Even though BBN and Louisville barely agree, if there’s anything we love more than our teams, it’s a Kentucky-born musician (I’m looking at you, Tyler Childers).

The crowd made the difference

Despite being down at the half, Kentucky was still able to come out with the victory over its long-time rival. The energy in Memorial Coliseum made such a big difference in the outcome of the game. If that arena was empty, we would’ve seen a much different outcome.

“Honestly, that the people show out. You know, I think we’ve had early games, and the crowds are trickling in, but tonight it was, it was loud, and they bought great energy,” Virginia Tech transfer Georgia Amoore said following Saturday’s win.

“And, you know, it’s what was advertised to me, that Big Blue Nation was, and I think it was great that it came tonight, but we’re going to need that when we come conference time too.”

BBN, you heard the All-American! The team needs you to show up and show out come SEC play. Memorial is fun, the team is fun, Kenny Brooks is fun, and who knows? You might see some special guests on the Jumbotron.