Derrick Jasper question?
- Thread starter L Butler
- Start date
His knee was bad in HS. Probably should have had it fixed b4 he came here. Nothing BCG did beyond continuation of the original.
He was a really good player, but he could just never get healthy.
I remember his penchant for clutch jumpers.
I remember his penchant for clutch jumpers.
I live in Lubbock, TX and went to Texas Tech. I saw Derrick Jasper out on time and talked to him about his time at UK and Gillispie. Funny how everything was true, Gillispie really was crazy. Jasper is really cool dude.
Jasper's problems did start in High School, but it was an unknown injury at the time from what I can gather. After his freshman year he had Microfracture surgery, which is normally a 12-18 month rehab which meant he should have been redshirted his Sophmore season. Instead he was back playing in around 8 months and he was never the same player afterwards.
Yep.
Microfracture surgery seems to be a hit or miss proposition. Some guys have it, recover, and eventually get back to normal. Some guys are never the same. Jasper was in the latter group. That may have happened regardless, but it was flat stupid and irresponsible that he was out there hobbling around on one leg in the 07-08 season. He put in some heroic minutes that year that helped UK to its surprise 12-4 SEC finish (the best accomplishment of the Clyde "era"), but there's no way it should have happened.
Jasper was an interesting player before the knee killed his career. I think he had some NBA potential. Not a spectacular athlete, and not a great shooter, but he had really good all-around skills. His PG background made him a good passer, and he had a pretty high basketball IQ.