Mark Pope shares high praise for Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno
“Like jaw-dropping great.”
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Head coach Mark Pope has assembled a new roster as the Kentucky Wildcats gear up for the 2025-26 season.
Pope has brought in two local legends in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno, to help bolster the roster.
The Wildcats head coach recently helped coach the 2025 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team in Colorado Springs, where Johnson and Moreno were also playing. Moreno has since left the event due to a minor injury, while Pope’s time there is done as well.
But that didn’t stop Pope from heaping praise on the freshman center along with Johnson.
“It was awesome because it was the first time I’ve been allowed to coach them,” Pope said during an interview with KSR. “That was the best part. It’s like a sneak peek into what’s going to be. Both those guys, man, what a show they put on. They were both incredible. I mean, like jaw-dropping great. So the chance to coach them and the chance to be in some live play, some competition against other players and other great players, I loved that part.”