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5 Derrick Jasper

Name
Derrick Jasper
Position
Guard
Class
SO
Hometown (Last School)
Paso Robles, CA (High)
Ht
6'6"
Wt
213
Seasons
2006-07, 2007-08
Birthday
April 13, 1988

Derrick Jasper was born Derrick Lamar Jasper on April 13, 1988, in San Leandro, California to Sue and Shelba Jasper.  He has a brother, Tony, and a sister, Jasmine.

Jasper played for two seasons at Kentucky from 2006-2008 before transferring to UNLV.  He was selected to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2007.

Playing for Paso Robles High School in Paso Robles, California, Jasper averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists per game.  He was ranked in the top 40 in many national recruiting rankings and was a consensus 4-star prospect. He was also the third-ranked point guard in the class of 2006 by Rivals.com, in addition to being ranked as the 25th overall recruit, in early 2005.  One of his top honors in AAU basketball was winning the MVP award at the Adidas Super 64 Tournament.  

After receiving offers from schools such as Memphis, Washington, and Illinois, he decided to play at Kentucky, verbally committing on September 29, 2005.  He joined Jodie Meeks, Perry Stevenson, and Michael Porter in comprising the Wildcats’ 2006 recruiting class when he signed his National Letter of Intent in November.

As a freshman at Kentucky, Jasper was chosen to start as coach Tubby Smith’s point guard. He ultimately started the final 27 games of the 2006–07 season. UK won its first 11 games with Jasper as a starter.  He was second on the team and third among SEC freshmen with 2.9 assists per game.  Jasper shot .613 from the field.  

Over the summer, he had microfracture surgery performed on his left knee and missed the first 10 games of the 2007–08 season. When he returned to action, he was the Wildcats’ sixth man until freshman star Patrick Patterson sat for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his ankle. After Patterson’s injury, Jasper would take his place in the lineup. His final game with Kentucky would be played in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament vs. the Marquette Golden Eagles.  Jasper earned SEC Academic Honor Roll status in 2008.

In May 2008, rumors circulated that Jasper was transferring from Kentucky to a school closer to his Paso Robles, California home. The schools that were named as his possible destinations were UNLV, California and UCLA. This proved to be true when he asked for his release from the team in June. Jasper said, “My transfer is no indication of my experience here; I like the direction they’re headed in – it’s just that I would like to attend a place closer to my home.”

Jasper transferred to UNLV to play for head coach Lon Kruger.

College Statistics:

Per Game

Season G GS MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
2006-07 34 27 20.3 1.4 2.4 .613 1.4 1.9 .697 0.1 0.4 .214 0.9 1.7 .525 0.5 3.1 3.6 2.9 0.9 0.2 2.1 2.4 3.9
2007-08 20 6 29.4 1.5 3.4 .426 0.7 1.6 .419 0.8 1.9 .432 0.5 1.3 .360 0.8 4.7 5.5 2.4 0.7 0.9 1.8 2.7 4.2
  54 33 23.7 1.4 2.7 .527 1.1 1.8 .608 0.4 0.9 .373 0.7 1.6 .476 0.6 3.7 4.3 2.7 0.8 0.5 2.0 2.5 4.0

 

Totals

Season G GS MP FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
2006-07 34 27 691 49 80 .613 46 66 .697 3 14 .214 31 59 .525 16 106 122 100 30 8 71 82 132
2007-08 20 6 588 29 68 .426 13 31 .419 16 37 .432 9 25 .360 16 93 109 47 13 17 36 54 83
  54 33 1279 78 148 .527 59 97 .608 19 51 .373 40 84 .476 32 199 231 147 43 25 107 136 215

 

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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