Longtime UNC Basketball Target Taking Two Official Visits Elsewhere

UNC basketball must combat the momentum that Alabama and Illinois look to seize in the homestretch of the Jasper Johnson race.

UNC basketball recruiting target Jasper Johnson / Stu Boyd II-The Commercial Appeal / USA

This weekend, Link Academy (Mo.) rising senior Jasper Johnson is checking out Illinois on an official visit with new suitor Brad Underwood and his Illinois program. Then, the one-time UNC basketball visitor will arrive in Alabama on Monday for a two-day official visit with Nate Oats' Crimson Tide, who have been in hot pursuit of the five-star's heralded backcourt services since January.

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And Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound silky guard who recently climbed to No. 10 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, is fresh off the second of two unofficial visits with first-year Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and his crew this week alone.

On that note, keep in mind that the 18-year-old speedster is a Lexington native, seemingly an advantage for Pope's bunch. Moreover, On3 Kentucky recruiting insider Jack Pilgrim recently described the action in the Jasper Johnson battle over the past few months as "a full-court press put on by the Wildcats."

5-star shooting guard Jasper Johnson (@BruhJasperJ) on the interest Kentucky and Coach Pope have shown him throughout his recruiting process.

Johnson was a member of the U-18 USA team in the 2024 Fiba Americup earlier this month. @WLKY @ChrisGaither3 pic.twitter.com/c1ndXVvsCM

— Vince Wolfram (@vincewolfram15) June 22, 2024

Meanwhile, Johnson has long hinted at a July decision date. So, it's no surprise that the overall activity level in his recruitment appears to have reached an all-time high ever since he reopened the race in May — after initially naming a top 10 a few months earlier.

However, outside of the fact that Johnson has mentioned UNC basketball's continued pursuit, Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels haven't been the ones accounting for the bulk of the noise in his recruitment of late.

That said, Jasper Johnson, a teammate last season to now-UNC basketball freshman center James Brown, has been on Davis' offer sheet since September and visited the Tar Heels in early February, coinciding with their win over archrival Duke in the Smith Center. Plus, despite his Kentucky roots, he has admitted several times to being a fan of the Tar Heels as a kid.

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