Pope has high expectations for Moreno going into his freshman season.
Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope has high expectations for freshman Malachi Moreno as the Great Crossing High School recruit makes his way to campus.
“Malachi Moreno is gonna be fun,” Pope said in a press conference Monday. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun with him. He’s so young and he’s so capable. From him, we’re gonna see moments where it’s like he should be in the NBA right now, and we’re gonna see moments where we feel like, I’m not sure Malachi knows exactly what he’s doing. And we’re going to see both of those, and that’s what growth is.”
It remains to be seen where Moreno will be in the rotation when the season starts. He should be behind Arizona State transfer commit Jayden Quaintance, but Quaintance may not be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from knee surgery earlier this year. That means Moreno could have a chance to start when the season gets underway in early November.
Right now, Kentucky’s front court includes Moreno, Brandon Garrison, Mo Dioubate, Reece Potter, and, eventually, Andrija Jelavic, who is still in the process of making his way to campus.
Even so, Pope likes what Moreno can bring to the Wildcats in his freshman season.