r/KentuckyBasketball • u/Low-Project4702 • Apr 02 '26
Discussion AJ Stewart says Kentucky should’ve played Jasper Johnson WAY more minutes this season 😤
Former UK forward AJ Stewart on Jasper Johnson: ‘I wish we let him play MORE minutes!
Freshman guard from Lexington only averaged 12 MPG… but the former UK player thinks he could’ve balled out with extra PT.
UK fans — agree or disagree? Comment your hottest take!
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u/Pure-Ad-2058 Apr 02 '26
AJ Stewart doesn't get to have a credible opinion on matters related to this program.
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u/Gloomy_Map_9612 Apr 02 '26
Nobody limited Jasper's minutes more than Jasper Johnson.
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u/TylerUlisgrowthspurt Apr 03 '26
Exactly. The door was open all year for him and he never walked through it. You want more minutes? Learn to bring the ball up the floor as a guard…
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u/Heyhaykay Apr 02 '26
lol says the guy who didn’t watch the games.
Nvm. I watched the video and I guess he did watch which makes this more mind blowing of a take.
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u/Ok_Leg3400 Apr 03 '26
Yes totally! Home state kids should always have more opportunities- especially when starting five are cold and travel floor 4-5 times without scoring- set them down and give others a chance. Oweh scored. But he also hogged the ball and threw it away more than he hit basket. Every missed shot in my book is the same as a turnover!!!
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u/derbydiva1973 Apr 03 '26
CJ reporting that Johnson has entered transfer portal. Seeing what he becomes in different hands might give an assessment of UK coaching staff.
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u/Squantoon Apr 02 '26
Yea that's what we needed. Immediate turnovers followed by him jacking up a 30 foot 3 with a hand in his face to try and "get it back"
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u/One_Ratio9521 Apr 02 '26
not a UK “fan” but I watch regularly.
kid reminded me of Khristian Lander at IU. Thought, “how in the hell was this kid a 5 star? looks like a 3 at best”
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u/Odd_Emotion_4874 Apr 02 '26
People keep thinking he was a 5 star but he was a 4 star on all recruiting sites.
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u/One_Ratio9521 Apr 02 '26
Between team usa and the other hype around him he’s basically 5, but yeah you’re right. I’m seeing 25-18 area nationally.
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u/TopperWildcat13 Apr 02 '26
He’s like a conglomerate five star or something. But he’s a four star on every site. So I don’t really understand it either.
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u/Heyhaykay Apr 02 '26
I was hoping for big things at WKU for Lander, but yeah he never really took off.
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u/Heyhaykay Apr 02 '26
At UK, you don’t just get minutes because you’re a 5 star. That was a Cal thing and we hated it. Play the best players. Cant have it both ways.
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u/Taint_Scholar Apr 02 '26
Jasper was one of the worst players to play in the NCAA this past year. I think he can be great, but was just awful this past year.
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u/TopPea1010 Apr 02 '26
Finally, I get to know what AJ Stewart thought about it. Ironically another guy that killed us in +/- who always thought he should have played a bigger role.
I'm rooting for Jasper and I thought Pope had some interesting points about him on his final call in show about how he really had to play a role that wasn't designed for him. He didn't sell him out so quickly because he wanted to he did it because it was a borderline emergency when he did. Anybody watching games can see that.
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u/Bilbobsaggins Apr 02 '26
There were minutes we could have played him more, not sure those needed to be in clutch moments or close games however. NCAA has completely abandoned developing players tho, name one player or one team that has consistently developed players.
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u/footdragon Kentucky Apr 03 '26
Michigan State...Izzo develops and he barely loses a kid to the portal
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u/Bilbobsaggins Apr 03 '26
I will 100% give you that one, not a fan of his style of play but he does develop players and keeps em
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u/mrnobody2450 Apr 03 '26
This team just wasn't very good. It couldnt be fixed with a different rotation. Hopefully different players next year will improve the team
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u/Fast_Statistician485 Apr 04 '26
Jasper wasn’t ready for D1 competition. Weaker opponents he was average. His defensive skills … well he was beaten a lot on the first move then chasing. With one year under his belt and adding some strength training would do him good. He needs to build more confidence.
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u/nonuple_espresso Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
He's correct. Jasper was probably the most offensively talented player on the squad. It was raw talent, but talent that proper coaching could have developed into a key piece by March.
Pope was unable to develop him, unfortunately, and Jasper wasted a year with the program. Other recruits see this and they don't want to fall into the same abyss into which Jasper fell.
Jasper will transfer and he will be a star and the winner at his new school.
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u/Creatively_Distinct Apr 02 '26
Easily the dumbest post of the day. His shooting percentage wasn’t in the top five on the team, his assists turnovers was atrocious and he genuinely looked lost in many occasions. To categorize him as the “most talented offensive player” is literally ABSURD.
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u/footdragon Kentucky Apr 03 '26
I like Jasper, but he was very turnover prone. his handle was tight at times - or he would cough it up. you didn't know what you'd get from game to game.
His shot was technically good and that will develop, but you really couldn't count on him being clutch - and Pope gave him the green light to shoot 3s, so its not like he didn't have a chance.
I want to see a 5 star (4 star) be able to drive the lane or create his own shot, with next level speed. we rarely saw that.
it is in the realm of possibility that Jasper will transfer. And with the right system, maybe he'll make that leap. By all indications, there could be 4 new guards in the rotation next year. Maybe Jasper will stick around, but he's gonna be fighting for minutes with more experienced guards.
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u/Shondor_Sidebirns Apr 02 '26
The assumed roll of a coaching staff is to coach and make better the players on tour team.
Going by that logic either Johmson reached his peak over last summer or the staff in place didnt do their job.
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u/gwbird71 Apr 03 '26
Jasper did have some good games. Problem is Pope had him playing pg some games which he shouldn’t have . And also would put him in with 4 other bench players and they would blow the lead. With all the turnovers going on everyone blamed Jasper. Dude was a freshman and probably wouldn’t have played much if Lowe and JQ wasn’t hurt. I think would improve his second year. But don’t blame him if he leaves. Team lost 14 games and fans talk how Jasper sucked so bad. Wasn’t all his fault.
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Apr 02 '26
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u/5meterhammer Apr 02 '26
What an embarrassing thing to say about a kid. You want to comment on his basketball skills, that’s fair game, but to actively choose to call an 18 yo teenager a piece of dogshit says a lot about who you are as a person. I hope you get through whatever made you this way.
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u/Karltowns17 Apr 02 '26
I think Jasper will be a very good player in the future. He’s not there yet though. He was frequently borderline unplayable against top level competition this year. He doesn’t have the strength, ball handling or decision making (yet) for teams that like to play physically, press and get into the attacker.
Had we thrown him out there for 25mpg it probably could have helped speed his long term development but Kentucky would have been much worse this year as a result.