{"id":62911,"date":"2024-07-28T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=62911"},"modified":"2024-07-28T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T06:00:00","slug":"jayden-johnson-planning-early-commitment-kentucky-a-top-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/jayden-johnson-planning-early-commitment-kentucky-a-top-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Jayden Johnson planning early commitment, Kentucky a top priority"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jayden Johnson<\/a><\/strong> is next in line among a long list of talented in-state standouts to come through Kentucky. Reed Sheppard<\/a><\/strong> started the run, followed by Travis Perry <\/a><\/strong>and Trent Noah<\/a><\/strong>, then Jasper Johnson<\/a><\/strong> and Malachi Moreno<\/a><\/strong> in 2025. The Trinity High School star joins Tay Kinney<\/a><\/strong> and Gabe Weis<\/a><\/strong> as four-star, top-100 prospects in the 2026 class, all players with clear high-major upside with booming offer lists.<\/p>\n

For Johnson in particular, he\u2019s rated as the No. 50 overall prospect and No. 14 shooting guard in 2026, gifted physically with positional versatility. It was a productive AAU season with the strong wing solidifying his status as a top-tier talent both within the state and nationally.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s worked for him up to this point?<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to use my body as a 6-5 guard who can play throughout the whole court,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing able to use my body against smaller guards, posting them up, getting by them on layups. Then against bigger guards, using quick moves to get by and attack the rim. I want to be a 6-6 \u2014 whatever position the coach wants me to play, but go to a school where I\u2019m able to bring it up and get the offense going. That\u2019d be a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That production has led to a growing recruitment with the likes of Indiana, Xavier, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Missouri, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Arizona State, USC and Michigan all extending offers. <\/p>\n

Who would he say is pushing the hardest for him at this stage?<\/p>\n

\u201cKentucky, Southern California, Cincinnati and Xavier, schools like that,\u201d Johnson told KSR. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to build relationships, get that tight together and tell me how in college, I\u2019ll be able to put the ball on the ground and come up the court, do a move to get by, come off screens, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kentucky is interesting as the home school, every kid\u2019s dream offer growing up in the state. He\u2019s had his eyes on that one from day one, and the contact is ramping up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just small contact right now because he\u2019s got a whole new team. Just being able to get that connection going is good,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels good because every kid from Kentucky wants that Kentucky offer. To be able to have that from those coaches is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does he know about the in-state program growing up in the area?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s all of the NBA players they had,\u201d Johnson told KSR. \u201c(DeMarcus) Cousins and all of them, being able to see them play close-up and then go to the league, be successful, that is awesome. I\u2019ve always seen that forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of visits, he\u2019s confident Kentucky will get an official, but a few other trips are on his mind, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll probably see Arkansas soon, Southern California, Arizona State, some schools like that,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know yet (if they\u2019ll be officials), to be honest. Kentucky will get an official.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect his recruitment to drag out, either. If things go as planned, he\u2019ll be off the board this time next year. He\u2019s interested in being a foundational piece for his future school in the 2026 recruiting class, helping add talent to build alongside him rather than a late addition. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say spring of my junior year or that summer. Pretty early,\u201d Johnson told KSR. \u201cJust to have that feeling that I\u2019m already committed to that school, have that edge to me as a building block for that school.\u201d<\/p>\n

What will that school be getting in Jayden Johnson?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole package,\u201d he said. \u201cA 6-5 or 6-6 guard who can play all over the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll see where things go with Kentucky, but he\u2019s certainly interested in staying home.<\/p>\n

The post Jayden Johnson planning early commitment, Kentucky a top priority<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jayden Johnson is next in line among a long list of talented in-state standouts to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62937,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62911\/revisions\/62937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}