Any momentum the UNC basketball coaches enjoyed in the Jasper Johnson sweepstakes appears to be gone forever.
Overtime Elite (Ga.) sharpshooting guard Jasper Johnson grew up in Kentucky. But he did so as an admirer of the Tar Heels. Plus, the five-star senior, who received an offer from Hubert Davis around this time last year, visited the UNC basketball program twice in his recruitment.
And until the first 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction popped up this week — ahead of Johnson’s anticipated announcement one day next week — most insiders hadn’t ruled out the possibility of the Tar Heels prevailing for the 6-foot-4, 175-pound speedster.
Now, though, it’d come as quite a shock if Johnson ends up anywhere other than Kentucky.
Between the 247Sports Crystal Ball, Rivals FutureCast, and On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, there are six predictions, all pointing to Mark Pope’s Wildcats coming out on top. Five of those picks have surfaced in the past few days alone, including the one from arguably the premier expert when it comes to Kentucky recruiting efforts in 247Sports national recruiting insider Travis Branham.
Throughout the summer, folks went back and forth between UNC, Kentucky, and Alabama as the presumed leader for Jasper Johnson.