Derrick Jasper

Derrick Lamar Jasper (born April 13, 1988) is an American basketball player from San Luis Obispo, California. He is listed as a point guard, but he is versatile enough to also play the shooting guard and small forward positions. Former assistant director of video operations for the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball program, Derrick Jasper is currently the men's head basketball coach at Paso Robles High School.

Derrick Jasper
CollegeUNLV
ConferenceMWC
SportBasketball
PositionGuard
Jersey #5
Career2006–2011
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight213 lb (97 kg)
NationalityUSA
Born (1988-04-13) April 13, 1988
San Leandro, California
High schoolPaso Robles,
Paso Robles, California

High school

Jasper was ranked in the top 40 in many national rankings, Japser was a consensus 4 star prospect. He was also the 5th ranked point guard in the class of 2006 by Rivals.com. He attended Paso Robles High School. After getting offers from schools such as Memphis, Washington, and Illinois, he decided to play at the University of Kentucky. He joined Jodie Meeks, Perry Stevenson, and Michael Porter as Kentucky's 2006 recruiting class.

Kentucky

As a freshman, he was chosen to start as Tubby Smith's point guard over junior Ramel Bradley. He ended up starting the final 27 games of the 2006–2007 season. After the 2006–07 season, Jasper thought about transferring but new coach Billy Gillispie convinced him to stay. Over the summer he had microfracture surgery performed on his left knee and ended up missing the first 10 games of the 2007–2008 season. When he returned to action, he was the Wildcats' sixth man until freshman star Patrick Patterson would go out 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 the Kentucky would be played in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament vs. the Marquette Golden Eagles.[1]

UNLV

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 ended up transferring to UNLV to play for head coach Lon Kruger. He said he liked how he fit in with the team and how Kruger motivated his players. He sat out the 2008–2009 season because of NCAA transfer rules. He is currently starting at guard for the Runnin' Rebels and has led the team to wins against #16 Louisville and #15 New Mexico.[2]

Texas Tech

Jasper was hired by Texas Tech as a graduate assistant in 2011 before taking on his current role as assistant video coordinator.[3]

Paso Robles High School

Now Jasper coaches at Paso Robles High School where he is now in his second year of coaching. Coming into his third year, the team had a disappointing 7-14 season, but Jasper is excited to teach and make other athletes better. He is confident in winning league in the following years, and maybe even a state championship later on. His enthusiasm toward the game makes everybody around him better.

References
  1. "Derrick Jasper Stats". online database. espn. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  2. "Derrick Jasper Stats". online database. espn. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  3. "Derrick Jasper". Retrieved January 6, 2015.
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