Corey Frazier has developed players from high school to the NBA during his coaching career and has one word — “phenomenal” — to describe how Kentucky signee Jasper Johnson has played at Overtime Elite this season.

“Getting to know him and finding out more about him and customizing a plan on the things he wants to improve on has been great,” Frazier said. “He has been phenomenal in everything he has done. He doesn’t talk much, but he is coming out of his shell. We have challenged him and he has responded.”

Johnson, a 6-foot-4 combo guard, is playing for Overtime Elite’s RWE out of Atlanta and is averaging 20.7 points, 5.8 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 61% from 2-point range and 36.3% from 3. He’s also hitting 77% at the foul line.

However, Frazier was thrilled at halftime of a recent game when Johnson was “getting on our bigs in a positive way” to make the team better.

“It was great to see him being a leader and accepting a role to have a voice as one of the best players to help others,” Frazier said. “I have been talking to coach (Mark) Pope about making sure his body language is good and finding his voice as a leader.”

Frazier and Johnson have spent plenty of time working on basketball skills, but Frazier is making Johnson lead daily in different ways.

“When he walks in the locker room, I ask him what he has seen (on the court). At first, he shied away from that. Now he has accepted that role and has been great,” Frazier said. “You never have to challenge him to do extra things. He tells us when he’s out of class and can get on the court. He doesn’t waste a minute because he loves to work. Sometimes I have to put him out of the gym.

“His work ethic is exceptional. He has the right mindset to play beyond college. That what this is all about is for him to make a career out of basketball and never have to work and wear a suit and tie.”

Johnson has always been a prolific 3-point shooter and shot creator at the basket. Frazier has stressed the need for him to develop an in-between game. Frazier explained that every superstar player has had a mid-range game.

“I have told him if you are not hitting 3s or getting to the basket, you have got to have some other way to score,” Frazier said. “We are working on his balance and footwork to get him there.

“We are always working more on posting him up to take advantage of his size. He is so creative. He is one of the top assists guys in our league. We have always really worked on his defense. At first, I thought he was allergic to defense, but now he is getting after it. He is averaging almost four steals per game now.”

Frazier said those who think Johnson is a one-dimensional player are wrong. He’s had games with 11 and 10 assists in the last two weeks.

“When all the scouts and coaches call, I want to say Jasper can do everything. I want to say he is doing well and he can also do this and that,” Frazier said. “His versatility just depends on the situation. If you talk assists with him, he will lock into that. Talk rebounding and he locks into that. I think he can play both guard spots (in college) depending on what is needed.”

Johnson and his RWE teammates will be in Woodford County on Feb. 2 for the Court XIV Classic honoring his late grandfather. RWE will play Huntington Prep at 7 after Woodford County plays Taylor County and Trinity faces North Laurel.

“Our guys have recognized that game and know it is Jasper Johnson Day. We all want to make sure we 100% support him. We are not going to let him fail. There is no pressure on him,” Frazier said. “This is about you coming home for the final game in your home gym. I want to let people see how much he has grown and what Kentucky fans can expect in the future with him.”

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Sophomore Clara Strack can be overshadowed at times by the terrific play of teammate Georgia Amoore, an All-American point guard. However, the 6-5 Strack is having a terrific sophomore season.

She is averaging 15.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 48.5% overall from the field and 74.2% at the foul line where she has a team-high 66 attempts. She is also leading the SEC in blocked shots.

“She is the best passing post player in the country,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said. “If you want to argue, show me the person (who is better) and we will have a debate.

“She sees things before they happen. The ball touches her hand and she is kicking it out so quickly and right on the money. Her defense is unbelievable. She leads the conference in blocked shots. She is not a super athletic kid, but she has a great feel for the position and where teammates will be.”

Strack played behind All-American center Liz Kitley at Virginia Tech last season, but did not try to “mirror” her game.

“She does some things better than Liz did and things Liz did not do,” Brooks said.

He liked that Strack did not try to become Kitley, but stuck with what she does best. He marvels at how she can switch on a point guard and still not get hurt defensively. Brooks said getting 15 rebounds in a SEC game like Strack has done shows how special she is.

“She can see plays ahead and pass,” he said. “She is as good at passing the ball as any big in the country.”

The Kentucky coach knows because Strack was a late bloomer (size-wise) that she benefits from playing guard when she was younger.

“She was 6-5 and playing point guard when we recruited her,” he said. “I think she can be really special. The thing that goes unnoticed is Clara is supposed to be a freshman. She is only a week older than (freshman) Lexie (Blue), a month older than (sophomore Clara) Silva.

“To understand the game at this speed at such an early age in her career is unbelievable. I hear the NCAA may grant a fifth year of eligibility (for college athletes). I pray for that. She is already putting some people on notice. Some may still not know who she is, but I think she will be one of the better players in the country by the time she graduates.”

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Travis Perry might be the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball who won a state high school championship in 2024 along with being named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball.

He’s made it clear all season that he’s not had an easy time getting comfortable playing for UK and coach Mark Pope in part because of the terrific practice competition he has to face.

“It’s kind of hard when you come in, just kind of figuring out what your role is, getting comfortable in a new environment, but I think from the practices I’ve had, getting to go against Lamont (Butler) every day, getting to learn from him and Kerr (Kriisa), I feel like I’m getting really comfortable just knowing what I need to produce in my role,” said Perry, who hit two 3-pointers in the win over Texas A&M, said.

“The mindset shifted to just going out there and playing, playing free, not really worrying about anything, and being aggressive. I think it kind of came just whenever I figured out my role on the team and knew what I needed to do and that I had to be consistent every night.”

With Kriisa out with a broken foot, Pope has leaned on Perry to provide short bursts of rest for Butler. While his minutes have been limited, Perry has taken care of the ball and given Pope a chance to rest Butler occasionally.

Perry has also worked to make himself a better defender.

“I didn’t know there were fundamentals of defense. I thought you just kind of go out there and play hard a little bit,” Perry said recently. “Learning from Lamont and Kerr the fundamentals of defense, the ins and outs of it, just like offense has, it has helped a lot.”

Butler has shown he can be one of the nation’s top point guards. He’s been a consistent scorer and is always a relentless defender.

“Going up against Lamont every day has made all the difference in the world for me,” Perry said. “He’s the best defender I’ll face all year, so to go against him in practice every day, it makes the game feel a lot easier.”

Perry has also benefited from watching Kriisa’s energy and leadership.

“The energy plays he has, that’s not really been my DNA in the past, but he’s working on it with me. There are many things he did great, especially on the defensive side of the ball that he’s really helped me with. He’s been a great resource,” Perry said about Kriisa.

“Just talking through all of the little things, kind of the mindset he had when he played the minutes I’m playing now, the mindset you have to have when you go in. One of the things he’s trying to get me to be big on is energy.”

Perry accepts his limited role and wants to do the best he can when he’s in the game.

“That’s something that’s really important. I feel like I’ve had some good tests so far — some good road tests, some good games at home to kind of get comfortable in the SEC,” Perry said. “To go out there and play, play free and not really worry about anything, be aggressive.”

Making a few shots definitely has helped his confidence, but it is not always about the makes.

“Seeing a shot fall is really important. But also just watching the tape and seeing the little things I was doing wrong early on that I’m kind of correcting now, getting so many more reps in practice to go guard Lamont or guard our scout team on the scout we’re doing,” Perry said.

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Kentucky believes it has loaded up in the transfer portal at receiver by bringing in four transfers for next season to help offset the departures of Dane Key, Barion Brown and Hardley Gilmore.

However, Kentucky is also adding five true freshmen receivers, including Cameron Miller of New Jersey. The 5-11, 175-pound Miller is a four-star prospect and nation’s 31st ranked high school receiver.

He had 59 catches for 1,342 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior and 42 catches for 722 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2024. He chose Kentucky over Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and others.

Miller, who also runs track, impressed recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow immediately.

“He is a really good player. He came in spring and he was committed to another school,” Marrow said. “We hung out with him and his high school coach on his visit and it went well. He got back home (to New Jersey) and asked me if I could talk to his mom.

“She told me she did not know what I said to her son because he was talking about de-committing. He didn’t then, but we still brought him in on an official visit and he can fly. He is a fast, fast man who is very twitchy.

“He played against good competition and had a lot of offers. We are really reloading on the receiver position and he is going to be a guy who can really contribute.”

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Alabama coach Nate Oats gave coach Mark Pope his first Rupp Arena loss when the Crimson Tide outscored UK 102-97. However, Oats could not have been more gracious in his praise of Pope after the game.

“I thought it was a great fit (when Pope was hired). He played here, he knows what this place is about, from afar it kind of seems like one of those teams that BYU would play,” Oats said. “I think what you’re seeing is offensive production. He’s going to be able to get players here.

“He’s always had a tradition to get players. When they hired him it made total sense, and his introductory press conference, the way they rolled him in was pretty cool. I think Mark is a great guy. Seems to me like the state’s embraced him.”

Oats said losing to his team was not a “bad loss” for Kentucky and he still believes Kentucky has a very good team.

“He’s done a great job. I think it helps the SEC to have Kentucky good,” Oats said. “They’ve been traditionally good most years and he’s got them very good.”

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Quote of the Week: “When you have really confident people that are really humble and throw in curiosity, that is a growth mindset person. We have a locker room full of guys like that. We have guys confident enough to be humble and have a whole load of curiosity so they get better. It is fun to coach guys like that,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope, on his team’s mindset.

Quote of the Week 2: “ I think it’s pretty easy whenever we’re going over the scout for whatever new team we’re playing that week in the SEC, they’re pretty consistently a top-25 in the country in offensive rebounding. That lets you know that if you’re not physical, if you’re soft, you’re probably gonna get smacked that day,” Kentucky freshman Travis Perry, on the need to be physical every SEC game.

Quote of the Week 3: “I think missing the NCAA Tournament is more than just on the table. I think it’s a likely scenario at this point,” CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish, on Arkansas’ postseason chances under coach John Calipari after an 0-5 start to SEC play.