Braylon Mullins believes big things are coming for former AAU teammate Malachi Moreno at Kentucky

Once upon a time, Kentucky was trending as a top contender to land five-star guard Braylon Mullins — if not the favorite. One of the best shooters in high school basketball, the Greenfield-Central (IN) product had played AAU ball with Malachi Moreno since the eighth grade and the future Mr. Basketball in the Bluegrass was “gonna make sure he puts this (UK shirt) on.”

Indiana Elite teammates on the adidas 3SSB circuit to college teammates in Lexington.

When the Wildcats pushed their chips in on Jasper Johnson, though, Mullins struggled to see a fit. He loved Mark Pope, but didn’t know if he could play with Johnson. Those concerns overlapped with growing buzz surrounding the UConn Huskies and desperation from the hometown Hoosiers with Michigan and North Carolina pushing.

His trip to Storrs in August would make the difference, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball committing to Dan Hurley in October after the Wildcats confidently went with Jasper in September.

“It was my first official visit and the baseline that they set was just so high. I love the coaching staff, have a great relationship with the entire coaching staff,” Mullins told KSR of his UConn commitment on Friday. “Campus is pretty. Classes, you can’t forget about the academic part. But when it comes to basketball, I mean, I think it was just the perfect fit. With what they’re doing, I think they can help me grow my game to the next level. I’m just going to take off from that.”

Moreno is now rooming with Johnson in Lexington while Mullins is preparing for life as a Husky. Before their college careers begin, though, the former Indiana Elite teammates found themselves matched up in the 2025 Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Game at Lexington Catholic on Friday — the battle of Mr. Basketballs. Years of friendship as competitors on the same bench wearing the same uniform playing AAU, and now, friendly villains in a battle for state bragging rights.

It doesn’t get much better than that.

“Being able to play against him one last time — we’ve played with each other for so long while we were getting recruited, and now, we’re ending it playing against each other and having some fun,” Moreno told KSR. “It’s a lot of fun.”

“It’s a great moment, it’s just all laughs when you’re out here,” Mullins added. “It’s just weird seeing him in a different jersey. It was definitely a good time, I enjoyed it. It was definitely a good time seeing him one last time.”

Mullins would finish with 24 points on 10-18 shooting with six rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes, Moreno with 22 points on 7-12 shooting with 14 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and one steal in 39 minutes. Kentucky led most of the way before Indiana stormed back in the second half with some late dagger throws to close out the 98-89 win.

Advantage Mullins.

It was all love between the two at the end of the day, though, the Indiana Elite alums coming together after the game for one final group picture before everyone goes their separate ways for college.

“We’ve been playing together since the eighth grade. I mean, he’s a great guy,” Mullins told KSR. “To me, there’s nobody else you would rather be around. He’s going to do great things at Kentucky, and I want to see him succeed.”

Seeing his growth to stardom as a McDonald’s All-American and top-ranked center as a top-25 recruit nationally, he remembers where Moreno was when they were about to begin their high school careers.

A lot has changed, obviously.

“He’s definitely gotten more physical with the game, gotten much stronger,” Mullins said. “He’s learned how to use his body. It was much different than what his freshman year looked like, even tonight. You could tell it was probably an iffy game, like 80 or 90 percent, but he still makes a presence in the paint. He’s gotten a lot better.”

Mullins remembers watching it click for the future Wildcat, realizing just how dominant he could be in the frontcourt as a true 7-footer with touch and length. Before long, every game was a good game for Moreno.

Then came the rise in the rankings.

“When we were playing AAU, we were beating some good teams and some good names, and he was making an impact in every single game that we played. Whether it was on the defensive side or offensive side, he was always having a good game,” Mullins continued. “It was definitely good to see him get that No. 1 (center rating). I think he deserved that.”

Moreno wanted to team up with him college, and for a moment, that possibility was strong. What pushed him away? Coming off back-to-back national championships, his relationship with Hurley was too strong to pass up.

He had to do what was best for his future, just as Moreno had to do for his. That led the former to Storrs and the latter to Lexington — both choices understandable.

“I mean, we both took those different paths. We all knew he’s from around here in Lexington,” Mullins told KSR. “My options were just expanding, and I think I just got into that relationship with UConn much earlier than I did with Kentucky. It just went different ways. I mean, I still like both programs, so it is what it is.”

He will say, though, he loved the way Pope dug into the analytics and laid out a plan to develop his game in a player-friendly system. Mullins learned a lot about himself being recruited by Kentucky, and he gives Pope credit for that.

“Pope’s a great coach, and he was — I learned a lot about my analytics within basketball, like the numbers,” he said. “He just showed how I can grow and he showed me how I could have expanded my game with with them. I mean, he’s really good with that. He’s probably doing a whole lot with all those guys at Kentucky.”

Hopefully their respective paths lead them to another head-to-head battle next postseason — say, Indianapolis in the Final Four?