When Jasper Johnson signed with Kentucky, Mark Pope called him ‘the most dangerous scorer in all of high school basketball’ with ‘massive gravity,’ set to ‘write the most profound chapter’ of his family’s great legacy in Lexington.

That momentum continued into the summer and early fall with the top-25 recruit emerging as the best pure bucket-getter on the roster, Pope once again saying ‘he is a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous scorer.’

His first test against No. 1 Purdue in the team’s exhibition opener? A team-high 15 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-7 from deep with three assists in 19 minutes. Maybe he’d be even more than a microwave scorer off the bench as a freshman? Could he be a go-to star?

It hasn’t translated to minutes or production against name-brand competition, combining for 20 points in 55 minutes against No. 12 Louisville, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 16 UNC, No. 11 Gonzaga, Indiana and No. 22 St. John’s. That compares to 79 points in 152 minutes in the other seven outings. He’s hit the double-figure shooting mark just once and it led to a season-high 22 points on 6-10 shooting, 2-4 from three and 8-8 at the line.

Johnson earned the third-most playing time of his freshman season against Bellarmine, stepping up in Jaland Lowe’s absence at point guard with 11 points, seven assists, three rebounds and a block with just one turnover in 22 minutes.

“I thought Jasper was really good. I had a lot of confidence in him today on the offensive end,” Pope said of the performance.

“I’m always comfortable,” Johnson said of his expanded role after the game. “Coach is always telling me to make plays for teammates, so I’m doing whatever I can to playmake, communicate with my guys, make sure they’re in the right spots, and build from there. … Coach thinks I’m one of the best playmaking guys on the team. Getting out there and trying to make plays for teammates is something that I do.”

That performance was a good one, but that doesn’t mean it’s all been sunshine and rainbows for Johnson in terms of his own personal expectations and goals at Kentucky. Beating up on the lesser competition is fine because basketball is basketball and he’s always grateful to represent his hometown, but there is still a hunger inside of him about proving himself on the biggest stage — something he hasn’t been able to do just yet wearing the blue and white.

It’s just new territory for him after playing a ton in a starring role at every level and stop along the way up to this point with high school, prep school and AAU.

“It’s really hard,” Johnson told KSR after the Bellarmine win. “I mean, I’ve never really been in this position before where I haven’t got the minutes that I wanted, but I’m working. I know when my opportunity comes, I have to be ready.”

He knows that defense is the key to everything, probably the biggest knock on his game over the years — that and his thin frame, which plays into the defense some, too. He embraces that and is working on it every day, controlling what he can control and developing in the areas keeping him off the floor.

That means continuing to do what he does best as a scorer and facilitator while improving as a defender.

“I have to keep my game sharp, keep working, keep getting better, and keep growing in every aspect that I can,” he continued. “I know defense is a big side of reasoning in my playing time, so I gotta get better at that. I can’t be mad at nobody but myself.”

Do those things and a breakthrough is inevitable, he feels. He simply pours too much into the game for it not to give back to him in the long run.

It hasn’t quite yet at Kentucky in terms of top-end production and playing time consistency against the best of the best, but until then, he’s going to keep working and impact winning however else he can.

He’ll be ready when his number is finally called.

“The hardest part for me is sometimes in games where I really don’t play that much. I’m always trying to stay ready,” Johnson said. “I know that the game of basketball has something in store for me, so I’m always trying to stay positive and keep working — even when I’m not getting minutes. 

“I always gotta be a benefit to the team, don’t have bad energy. Being a good teammate is something that I’ve been learning.”

Slowly but surely, Jasper Johnson’s time is coming.