The development of this guard will make or break Kentucky's NCAA Tournament hopes

Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats have had issues with the injury bug all season long. Point guard Jaland Lowe is done for the year with a shoulder injury, wing Kam Williams is out indefinitely with a broken foot, and Jayden Quaintance is back out of the lineup with knee swelling.

Despite all of these injuries to the Wildcats have won five straight SEC games and are tied for second in the conference. Kentucky has a very important week coming up this week with two tough road games against Vanderbilt and Arkansas.

If Kentucky is going to pick up a win this week, they will need some secondary scoring. Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen have played great for the Wildcats in SEC play, but for Pope’s team to succeed, some other player will need to step up and score the ball. A player who needs to take on this role is Jasper Johnson.

Jan 24, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Jasper Johnson (2) passes the ball during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Early in the year, the freshman combo guard struggled in big games, but he is slowly figuring things out for Kentucky. In the win over Tennessee in Knoxville, he scored 12 points. In the following game, Johnson was held scoreless against Texas, but on Saturday, he scored 11 against Ole Miss. It was clear early into the season that Johnson was a streaky scorer, and when the team was healthy, that was fine. Now that this team is thin all over the floor, Pope needs Johnson to get more consistent.

Collin Chandler is another player who will need to step up and score for the Wildcats as he has done over the last few games, but Johnson is such a gifted scorer if he could start to hit shots more consistently, it would be huge for the Wildcats. The reality is, Coach Pope has to play this team with the players he has, and over the last few games, it has been working.

It is very impressive that Coach Pope’s team has won five games in a row in SEC play with this banged-up roster, but this says a lot about the grit of this team. It doesn’t seem like the Wildcats will be able to hang with some of the elite teams in the NCAA Tournament, but one thing that will give Pope’s team a better chance is if Johnson continues to take strides. All of Big Blue Nation believes Johnson has a bright future ahead, but if he can continue to develop within this season, it is huge for the postseason upside of the 2025-26 Kentucky Wildcats.