By LARRY VAUGHT
Link (Mo.) Academy coach Bill Armstrong has 21 years of college coaching experience and has helped recruit three McDonald’s All-Americans, 24 all-Southeastern Conference selections and 10 NBA players.
Armstrong understands how special junior guard Jasper Johnson can be. The 6-5 guard transferred from Woodford County High School this season to play for Link and had a spectacular 37-point performance in his homecoming game at Woodford against Huntington Prep.
“Jasper is just a dynamic scorer. He can beat his man off the dribble and he gets others involved in the offense,” Armstrong said. “He’s been working on getting others more involved in practice. Part of the reason he came here was to use other ways to improve his offensive game. Things like good ball fakes and angles.
“He can score in bunches and has done that. One game he had 19 points in 18 minutes. He has the ability to get you back into the game or extend leads and end the game.
“When he’s open, it’s like a layup. He’s that good a shooter. He hits about 90 percent at the foul line and that’s something I am trying to encourage him to find ways to get to the line more.”
Johnson is now ranked as high as the No. 10 player in the 2025 recruiting class and could continue to climb higher. He knows his defense needs work and that’s one reason he came to Link to play for Armstrong, who coaches at Ole Miss and LSU.
“He is making progress. They all have a ways to go to get where they want to get in college and then the next level. It’s nonsense when people say they do not play defense in the NBA,” Armstrong said. “They are trying. It’s just that the players are that good offensively.
“Jasper has tried to make strides. He has some building left to do but he is doing everything we ask of him and is getting better daily.”
He’s doing it well enough that Kentucky coach John Calipari along with head coaches from North Carolina, West Virginia and Missouri watched him play at Woodford County. He also has offers from Georgia Tech, Baylor, Kansas, Louisville, Arizona State, Auburn, California, Cincinnati, Florida State, Indiana, LSU, Memphis, Texas A&M, USC and Xavier.
Speculation has been thrown around that Johnson might reclassify to the 2024 recruiting class. Armstrong said that his a decision only Johnson and his family can make.
“I coached at the highest level of college basketball and I feel I can help him know if he is ready (to reclassify). It’s a long time until May for a 17-year-old kid,” Armstrong said. “It’s not a decision that has to be made now. It’s an option for him and his family to weigh later.
“I went through the same thing last year with Elliot Cadeau. We won the national championship, he looked ready (to reclassify) and I thought he was. Now he is the starting point guard at North Carolina,” Armstrong said.
“Jasper is not far off. It’s not something I think there is no way he would be able to do. A lot will depend on how hard he works in the weight room. Sometimes you have to get older to put on weight but you can get stronger. If he is strong enough to get to his spots and not get knocked off the ball, then it (reclassifying) could be an option for him.”
Jasper Johnson continues to say that reclassifying to the 2024 class remains an “option” but his plan remains to stay in the 2025 class.
“I know I need to let my body mature to hopefully prepare for one season (in college) and then go to the (NBA) draft,” Johnson said. “I think I need another year mentally and physically before college. There are still things for me to do to fulfill my high school dreams.”
Johnson’s father, Dennis, is the head football coach/athletics director at Woodford but he’s also a former all-SEC defensive lineman at UK who also played in the NFL.
“We are not going to reclassify,” Dennis Johnson said. “He needs another year to get his body right for college. Woodford to Link was a big step but Link to college is an even bigger step. We have options in mind that will make that transition easier for him.”
It’s hard to find new ways to praise Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard. He keeps seeing his name positioned prominently on NBA draft boards and continues to make plays on the court to help Kentucky win.
“Great shooters are also great passers in transition,” ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes said. “He is a basketball savant. We talk about guys who see the game one pass ahead and that truly is Reed Sheppard. His defensive instincts, his passing instincts are all good.”
Dykes said whether it is as a spot-up shooter, transition scorer or getting open out of the pick-and-roll, Sheppard is as “elite a shooter as there is in college basketball’ this season.
Dykes, a former Kentucky assistant coach under Eddie Sutton, understands the passion of the UK fan base and the love for in-state players like Sheppard. He could see a day where Kentucky fans appreciate Sheppard even more.
“I do not know if he wants to get into coaching but it would not shock me 25 to 30 years down the road if Reed Sheppard is not the head coach here at Kentucky,” Dykes said.
Even former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski podcast is a Sheppard fan. He recently had Calipari on his podcast.
“You have my favorite guy in Reed Sheppard, who’s like a wind-up doll that never makes a mistake,” Krzyzewski told Calipari after complimenting the way UK shares the ball and does not turn it over.
Calipari did tell the former Duke coach that Sheppard made a huge mistake when he fouled a 3-point shooter late in the win at Florida with UK leading by four points.
“He had to show that he was human,” Krzyzewski told Calipari. “Because up until that point, he was not human. And then the look on his face, like, ‘Am I a dummy or what?’ I loved it.”
Sheppard hit two free throws with less than a second left in regulation at Texas A&M to send the game into overtime last week before UK eventually lost 97-92.
“This team, no matter what, we are going to fight. Everybody wants to win, nobody likes losing,” Sheppard said. “No matter what, we are going to continue to fight and play for each other.”
Former Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch kept believing he would finally be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame but kept getting overlooked in the voting until this year. Now he’ll be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in December.
“I understand both sides. I felt disappointed when I didn’t get in. I am competitive and would see the names and other quarterbacks selected and I think I should go in,” Couch said. “That’s just how my mind works.
“I am not saying the others elected were not deserving. I just wanted to be in. I am just glad it has finally happened now. It was well worth the wait. Once your name is called you are thankful, humble, gracious and realize how special it is. There are still a lot of guys on the list who deserve to be in, too.”
Couch set NCAA, SEC and school records at UK during his prolific seasons in 1997 and 1998 before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL draft. However, Couch said he also learned a lot of “life lessons” during his time at UK.
“Just treat people the right way and be involved when you can and make connections,” he said. “Being here at Kentucky you have a lot of resources and opportunities to better yourself. Everything you need is here. I tried to maximize things that set me up for life after football.”
The Kentucky women’s basketball team is struggling again this season but do not overlook what senior forward Ajax Petty has done.
She had 10 double-doubles in UK’s first 17 games but downplayed what she had done.
“I think my teammates always do a great job of trying to look for me and trying to get the ball,” Petty said. “It just shows the work that I’ve been putting in and just continuing to put in.”
Petty has 23 points and 21 rebounds in a recent loss to Vanderbilt. The only other player ever to have a 20-20 game was UK’s all-time leading scorer Valerie Still on Dec. 29, 1982. Still actually had two 20-20 games.
Petty has had three 20-15 double-double games this season. She’s leading Kentucky in scoring at 16.5 points per game as well as rebounding (11.3 per game), blocked shots (16), steals (22) and total minutes played.
Petty knew she would be asked to play more minutes this year and she focused on her conditioning most of last summer.
“Just making sure I came back in the best shape that I could possibly be in. When you’re not in shape you have a lot of mental lapses,” she said. “It’s little things like going and chasing the ball when everybody else is tired just because I’m more conditioned than the people that I’m playing against.”
Petty is trying to help keep the team’s morale up despite the struggles the team has had and likely will continue to have.
“Just not looking at the outside factors on like what’s going on around us, taking what’s going on right now and just moving forward. Learning from what’s going on,” Petty said.
I think that’s the biggest thing to continue to watch the film and watch what we need to improve on and then just wanting to do it. Wanting to get in the gym, wanting to watch the film, wanting to see what we can do better in order to improve.”
Listening can be an underrated skill for a successful basketball team.
Coach John Calipari likes the veteran “voice” that fifth-year senior Tre Mitchell brings to his team. ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes calls him a “terrific connector” because his voice matters to the entire team.
Mitchell appreciates the way younger teammates have listened to him this season.
“It is a very important piece because not only do they listen to me but they listen to Coach and are coachable,” Mitchell said. “I have been with plenty of players who are hard headed and only listen to their circle.
“These dudes see adjustments. It’s a credit to them and they can all go far in this game when they are willing to listen and adjust like they are.”
Mitchell said he can take more time in practice to explain small details to teammates than he can in a game.
“They listen and make adjustments which shows they are intelligent players,” Mitchell said.
Calipari obviously has a special bond with Mitchell, who transferred from West Virginia after Bob Huggins was fired.
“Like, if I say something that’s funny, he laughs,” Calipari said.
The Kentucky coach said he will get on Mitchell but his team’s leading rebounder responds in his own way.
“I can’t remember what it was but I kind of needled him without looking at him and he said, ‘Well, the guy may be struggling because you are drawing up six plays in a timeout and we don’t know which one we are running.’ He said that to me, which I sometimes do,” Calipari said.
“I love coaching him. I love it. And I love how he is as a teammate.”
Quote of the Week: “I have such a soft spot for this young, talented team. Reminds me of my beloved 1992 team in terms of likability, love affair with fans. A lot of future pros. Makes me want to make multiple pilgrimages to Rupp Arena,” New York Daily News columnist Dick “Hoops” Weiss.
Quote of the Week 2: “I feel like it didn’t go in because it’s going to go in in March,” Kentucky freshman Rob Dillingham on a missed 3-pointer at Texas A&M.
Quote of the Week 3: “He is the heart and soul of this team. And he’s well-connected with each player,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates on Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves.