KSR's top takeaways from day one of USA U19 Training Camp

Day one in Colorado Springs lived up to the hype, Mark Pope making his USA Basketball coaching debut while Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno represented the Kentucky Wildcats on the U19 Training Camp roster — with a ridiculous number of other major targets to keep an eye on, including nine 2026 recruits holding scholarship offers.

KSR kept things rolling with a Live Blog throughout the day, but how about the big-picture updates on the top standouts? The list is long on takeaways, but we’ll narrow it down to some of the best as we inch closer toward the final roster going to Switzerland for the 2025 FIBA World Cup.

AJ Dybantsa is on a planet of his own at No. 1

It was a performance that led to a postgame debate wondering how many points per game he’d average in the NBA today. Down big in the final minutes of the afternoon session scrimmage, the BYU signee single-handily led his team back to victory with not one, not two, but three separate clutch buckets with defensive stops and forced turnovers to pull it off. The one kid in the gym with nothing to prove — No. 1 in his class, all of the NIL money in the world, likely No. 1 draft pick in 2026 — was screaming to his teammates to pick up 94 feet with defensive call-outs and counting down each second on the inbounds begging for a violation. He was obsessed with earning what amounts to a meaningless scrimmage win in a training camp he could have skipped entirely and still made the final 12-member 2025 FIBA World Cup roster without losing a second of sleep.

It’s because he’s different, in a category by himself in this ’25 high school class. Any other conversation is overthinking it or trying too hard to be controversial. Dybantsa owned the highest highs of any player in the gym on day one and it wasn’t close.

Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno prove they belong

Johnson was red-hot in drills and skill work to open the day, but couldn’t get shots to fall in the first scrimmage. That changed in the second, going on his own dynamite scoring run to get rolling with pretty floaters and catch-and-shoot makes. College coaches in attendance were talking about his talent in the gym after the day wrapped up and what Kentucky is getting in his addition.

While his individual run turned heads, Moreno was more consistent and had the better day overall. He uses his body well to create space and positions himself for boards with the best of them, a top-two center in the gym behind only Michigan’s Morez Johnson — No. 1 among ’25 and ’26 kids in attendance. The Georgetown native is long and runs the floor well, skilled with soft hands and feel. Scouts raved about his growth over the last year and his body transformation, wondering if he’ll play more in year one as a Wildcat than anticipated.

Point being, it was a good day for the in-state freshmen, who both fit right in among returning collegiate talent and the best newcomers and rising high school seniors in the country.

… but so does Mikel Brown Jr.

That was the good news as it relates to Kentucky. The bad news is that Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. — who took an official to Lexington and was a top target for the Wildcats before other dominoes fell and the two sides parted ways — is really freaking good too. He’s a shot-maker at the highest level and a crafty finisher, but most importantly, he’s got some dog in him that should allow him to become one of the best first-year players in college basketball next season. The 6-3 guard is thin and limited athletically, but he’s skilled with all of the confidence in the world.

And he’s going to Kentucky’s bitter in-state rival, likely to be very good as a one-and-done and potential lottery pick. Be prepared for plenty of national attention on the Cardinals — it’ll probably be deserved.

Koa Peat is MVP of the day

Dybantsa had the highest highs and talent was all over the floor, but no one impressed me more from the time I walked into the gym until the time I walked out than Arizona’s Koa Peat. He’s in great shape and moving extremely well, playing above the rim after being previously seen as an undersized four who made up for athleticism with skill and a high basketball IQ. The 6-8 forward swatted shots away and threw down some vicious posters as a grab-and-go threat off the rebound. One of the most decorated players in high school basketball history, he wrote his name into the 12-member final roster with Sharpie after an unbelievable start in Colorado Springs. Peat just produces and contributes to winning, no question about it.