Courtside with the Kentucky Wildcats
UK Coach Billy Gillispie said Saturday that he expects Derrick Jasper to transfer.
A formal announcement should come this coming week, Gillispie said.
More than once last season, Gillispie spoke of Jasper’s value to the UK team as a ballhandler, decision-making and example of toughness.
When asked about losing Jasper, Gillispie spoke of the constant need to adapt and adjust.
“Our wheels are always in motion,” he said.
UK Coach Billy Gillispie acknowledged the possibility that sophomore guard Derrick Japser might transfer.
“He’s a little homesick,” Gillispie said at a Thursday news conference.
Gillispie noted how much UK wanted Jasper to return next seaason. “He’ll be an all-SEC type player next year,” the UK coach said.
Kentucky is trying to convince Jasper to stay. Gillispie declined to say what points he’d made to try to persuade Jasper to stay. “That’s personal stuff,” the UK coach said.
Gillispie suggested that Jasper’s homesickness isn’t anything unusual. UK’s high-profile program made it more of a public issue, he said.
Gillispie said he was not sure if Jasper will stay or leave.
Sophomore guard Derrick Jasper played down the obvious difference he made for Kentucky in the last two games.
“I’m not a savior,” he said with a soft smile on Friday. “I just try to play my game, get the ball moving and get easy baskets.”
Jasper, who missed the season’s first nine games while recovering from microfracture surgery in June, gives Kentucky a heady ballhandler and decision-maker.
“It’s been devastating for us not to have him on the court,” UK Coach Billy Gillispie said. “He’s one of the toughest guys we have. He can play multiple positions.”
Jasper, a cool customer who rarely shows emotion, downplayed the passion surrounding Saturday’s Kentucky-Louisville game.
“I feel it’s just the next (game) up,” he said before acknowledging the fans’ emotional investment. “It means more to the fans than me.”
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.