Mark Pope landed 7 foot 200 pounds Jasper Johnson with full commitment….

Mark Pope landed 7 foot 200 pounds Jasper Johnson with full commitment….

Recruiting expert believes Kentucky is fading in recruitment of Jasper Johnson

The Cats may not even be the runner-up.

Jasper Johnson’s recruitment is in the home stretch, as the 5-star prospect is expected to make his college commitment by the end of August.

While the Kentucky Wildcats are among Johnson’s top contenders, one recruiting expert believes the Cats are fading down the stretch.

During an appearance on The College Basketball Show, 247 Sports recruiting ace Travis Branham said he does not believe Kentucky is a serious threat to North Carolina or Alabama for Johnson.

“This has become a two-man race,” Branham said of Johnson’s recruitment. “There’s been a lot of smoke out there on social media, but I would not buy into it. This is a race between Alabama and North Carolina. At this point, I would classify Kentucky, although they are the hometown team, I would classify them as a distant third behind Alabama and North Carolina.

“Still tipping my hat to the Crimson Tide as the leaders in this one, but North Carolina is within striking distance. And they could flip this thing around before we get the official announcement.”

Ouch.

While it won’t be fair to put this entirely on Mark Pope, being that he’s only been recruiting Johnson for several months since becoming Kentucky’s head coach, this would still be a tough pill for fans to swallow. Johnson is a Lexington native who briefly played at Woodford County and is the son of former Kentucky Football standout Dennis Johnson.