‘A real impact.’ Malachi Moreno is making a difference for UK basketball

Mark Pope towered over a gaggle of reporters and delivered his message with emphasis.

“Way to be present,” the Kentucky basketball coach said, making sure to stretch out the final word for maximum emphasis.

Pope was delivering a succinct phrase of praise to his 7-foot freshman center, Malachi Moreno, just minutes after the best game of Moreno’s nascent college career.

A local high school star at Georgetown’s Great Crossing, Moreno led the Cats with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in Friday night’s blowout home win over Valparaiso.

It was a performance dripping with the kind of potential that Moreno offers the Cats. He was a force around the rim, slamming home five dunks and coming away with three offensive rebounds. He displayed his passing chops while acting, at times, as an offensive hub for the Cats.

Most impressive of all? Moreno did this in just 21 minutes, while playing in only his second official college contest.

“I was really proud of him today, as a freshman just in his second game,” Pope said afterward. “There’s so much going on, like there’s so much (about) life also. Just all the things. Like all of our guys, he’s dealing with a thousand different distractions, but he was able to come on the floor tonight and really focus.”

It’s foolish to expect this kind of outing every game from Moreno, who became the first high school recruit to commit to Pope at Kentucky when he did so in August 2024.

Pope admitted as much.

“He’s young. He’s going to have ups and downs,” the UK coach said. “But his ceiling is really, really high.”

Each of the four times that Kentucky has taken to the Rupp Arena floor this fall — against two high-major schools in exhibition contests and two mid-major programs in resounding “buy” game victories — Moreno has looked the part of the high school All-American and Sweet 16 state champion that he was last season.

“It’s a dream that I’ve always had,” Moreno said of being at UK. “I had my time at Great Crossing. Had my time playing in the state tournament. And now I get to enjoy playing here at the University of Kentucky wearing Kentucky across my chest. It’s an unbelievable feeling and something I’ll never take for granted.”

It’s one thing to put up big numbers as a highly touted freshman against inferior opposition. It’s another to adjust to the flow and rhythm of a college basketball contest while making specific adjustments at just 19 years old.

Friday night saw Moreno do both. Allow Pope to explain.

Moreno was plenty productive in the first half as Kentucky started fast and gained separation from the Beacons. UK led Valpo by 32 points at the intermission as Moreno had six points, five rebounds, two assists and a block at the break.

But Pope pointed out after the game that when Moreno was fed the ball in the post, he would repeatedly attack the basket along the baseline. That became predictable for the Valparaiso defense. The Beacons were sitting and waiting for Moreno to make that move.

Then came the adjustment. Moreno showed discipline and attacked the middle of the court. He displayed patience with his dribble and worked his way to his intended spot.

“Late in the second half (he) went to the rip-through, the step-through,” Pope explained. “Which is, like, exactly how you respond when people overplay your left shoulder. I thought the way he calculated the game was really good.”

The result? Moreno boosted his tally in the second half to 12 points, along with another five rebounds to seal his double-double.

“He’s a great learner, and he learns fast,” said junior guard Jaland Lowe, who made his UK debut in Friday’s win. “Just from a standpoint of off the court, he’s gotten so much stronger. He’s really paid attention to the details to help him get better. And I’m super proud of him. He’s come a long way. He’s going to be so important for us.”

This also brings us to Pope’s favorite part of Moreno’s performance. A three-assist, no-turnover stat line.

“I knew Coach Pope loved to run offense through his bigs,” Moreno added. “But to be honest, I didn’t know he was that comfortable with every big. I thought I was going to have to earn my stripes. But I feel like during the summer, I was able to prove myself and just having a coach like that having trust in me, I feel like it just gives me all the confidence to perform.”

UK basketball freshman Malachi Moreno settles into his groove

Moreno’s adjustment to college basketball didn’t come in one moment, practice or play.

Instead, the freshman said the gradual progression of the offseason and a day-by-day approach has led him to a hot start.

“Coach has said it before, it was only a matter of time before I got comfortable,” Moreno said. “And tonight I felt really comfortable.”

Pope has been struck by the everyday effort Moreno brings to practice at the Joe Craft Center. The Kentucky coach singled out Moreno as UK’s best rebounder, on both ends of the floor, dating back to the summer. Pope added that Moreno is also Kentucky’s best player at initiating contact before then corralling loose balls.

“It’s his consistent effort, I think, that’s really, really functional for him on the glass,” Pope said of Moreno, who also led UK with nine rebounds in the season-opening win over Nicholls.

The Kentucky coach shouted out Moreno’s physicality in several aspects. He lauded Moreno’s ability to “wedge,” a screen-the-screener action that creates space for open shots.

“He’s got a physicality that might be surprising, actually,” Pope said. “When you look at him, you expect he’s going to feel a certain way when you actually make contact with him. But I think he’s way stronger.”

For all the talk about Moreno’s size, strength and basketball processing, the player said it was a simpler part of the game that keyed his breakout.

Free-throw shooting.

Moreno converted from the charity stripe 62.4% of the time (on a high volume of attempts) as a senior at Great Crossing. He went just 1-for-6 from the line against Nicholls.

Things went a bit better Friday, with Moreno going 2-for-4 on free throws. Moreno said after the game that knocking down a pair of free-throw attempts with 12:08 to go, despite Kentucky being up by 40 points, was what settled him into the contest.

Perhaps there’s a connection between the solitude found at the foul line and what Pope said about Moreno and his teammates blocking out outside noise in the pursuit of on-court success.

That’ll get tested Tuesday night when the Cats travel to Louisville for an early-season rivalry matchup.

The idea of Moreno playing a deciding role in that contest would likely have been brushed aside in the offseason.

Now? It appears the Kentucky kid could be a key player in his first marquee game in the blue and white.

“I felt like I made a real impact tonight,” Moreno said. “My confidence is through the roof right now.”

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

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Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription