KSR's top takeaways from USA U19 Training Camp with Pope, Jasper, Malachi and Kentucky's targets

Like Mark Pope, I was making my USA Basketball debut in Colorado Springs at the U19 National Team Training Camp ahead of the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup in Switzerland. Most in the media space, particularly national buddies, rave about USAB events at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center and the evaluation opportunities you get watching the nation’s best compete at the highest level in that gym. Maybe it’s those three U-S-A letters or the red, white and blue covering the gym and throughout campus where so many legendary U.S. athletes have come through preparing for the Olympics, but it unlocks something in these kids that is truly a blast to see with your own two eyes. There is a pursuit of greatness you don’t get in traditional AAU or high school settings where every rep is played like their last, desperate for one of those coveted final 12 roster spots, cut down from the initial 32 to start the event.

That group of 32 included two incoming Wildcats in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno, plus nine other 2026 recruits holding Kentucky offers. On the staff side of things, Pope served as a court coach alongside Nate Oats (Alabama), Hubert Davis (North Carolina) and Damon Stoudamire (Georgia Tech) while Tommy Lloyd (Arizona) is the head coach with Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame) serving as assistants — that latter group leading Team USA in the FIBA World Cup from June 28-July 6.

KSR was in attendance at Training Camp from June 15-17, watching five total sessions and three with Coach Pope before his return to Lexington to get summer practice rolling. Here are the top takeaways:

Mark Pope was in his element as a coach and recruiter

College coaches using USA Basketball to get extended face time with high school prospects for both recruiting and evaluation purposes is not a new development — John Calipari’s 2017 U19 squad included Hamidou Diallo, Immanuel Quickley and PJ Washington, for what it’s worth. It is a new development, though, for Mark Pope, who made his USAB debut in Colorado Springs and got to spend a full weekend working hands-on with two incoming Kentucky freshmen and a host of other top targets in ’26.

Pope himself told KSR “you kind of put down the gloves here with any specific recruiting” at an event like this while acknowledging “there’s nothing that grows a relationship like being on the court with guys, coaching with guys, challenging guys, teaching guys.” Seeing it in real time, all of those things are true.

Take this interaction, for example:

Coach Pope, USA Basketball. pic.twitter.com/Nk1tsiWUgk

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 15, 2025

That’s Nyk Lewis, a four-star guard from the 2025 class who signed with VCU in the spring. Kentucky is not a threat to flip his commitment and there is no connection to Pope or the Wildcats in 2025-26, just a USA coach talking to a USA player at a USA event.

What happens, though, if Lewis finds himself in the portal next offseason and needs a new home? It’s a first impression and foot in the door for Pope if the situation presents itself with no malicious intent for every kid in that gym, their chance to see how he operates and his coaching style. Maybe some kids don’t like his approach or see the fit? Maybe they love him and now see a potential match either in high school or as a transfer down the road?

One way or another, the interactions are productive. As one high-major coach in attendance told KSR, generally speaking, “the best answer is a yes, but the second-best answer is a quick no.”

Mark Pope got some one-on-one time with Tay Kinney during his time in Colorado Springs

Thought to be a head-to-head battle between Kentucky and Louisville for the top-20 recruit’s commitment

Native of Newport, KY pic.twitter.com/8wEiRj3dJ8

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 17, 2025

The positive results are expected to far exceed the negative, however, as essentially every player KSR spoke with raved about Pope and his basketball mind — some admitting his presence gave Kentucky a recruiting advantage. He stood out as a one-on-one teacher and mentor, regularly pulling kids aside to provide input during both live action for smaller real-time updates and downtime for more relaxed big-picture guidance. No moment stood out more than his final hour in Colorado Springs, meeting with every player in attendance on his way out, several minutes apiece. It didn’t matter if you were current Wildcats in Johnson and Moreno, Kentucky’s top recruiting priorities, or guys he may not cross paths with ever again, he didn’t waste a second of the opportunity from the moment he walked in to the time he left.

Jasper and Malachi were among top standouts

I went into the event set on keeping my blue-tinted glasses off to see how Kentucky’s incoming freshmen stacked up against the rest of the competition. It helped having rival coaches, NBA scouts and analysts in attendance to pick their unbiased brains and, fortunately for us, my eyes weren’t lying to me: Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno played very well.

Johnson is a polarizing prospect with scouts questioning his passing and playmaking abilities and defensive effort when he’s not making shots — more of a low-floor, high-ceiling impact piece, in their opinion. When he’s cooking, there are few scorers that can match his production and the other parts of his game seem to elevate as intensity overlaps with confidence. There was plenty more of the latter in Colorado Springs to point where his greatest skeptics were giving him props.

If Johnson is the high-ceiling guy, Moreno has a reputation for the opposite as a consistent high-floor contributor. As a true 7-footer capable of using his size to create space and position himself for rebounds and finishes around the rim, he’s a walking double-double threat — even if he’s not one to totally dominate every touch or defensive possession. Moreno simply gets the job done and you saw the best version of that at U19 Training Camp, the second-best center in attendance behind only Michigan sophomore Morez Johnson Jr., if you ask me. He was light on his feet and moved well, running the floor to catch lobs and block shots while winning his head-to-head post-ups.

Pope may be the king of hyperbole, but he was on point when describing the Kentucky boys’ play against the best U19 competition in the country.

”Both those guys, what a show they put on for those four sessions [with college coaches in attendance],” he told KSR. “They were both incredible, like jaw-dropping great.”

A mixed bag for Kentucky’s targets in ‘26

Nine rising seniors in the event held scholarship offers from Kentucky, those targets including No. 1 overall Tyran Stokes, No. 2 overall Brandon McCoy, No. 3 overall Christian Collins, No. 6 overall Jordan Smith Jr., No. 7 overall Caleb Holt, No. 8 overall Tajh Ariza, No. 13 overall Jason Crowe Jr., No. 17 overall Deron Rippey Jr. and No. 23 overall Tay Kinney.

Let me start with a warning: college coaches do not love this ‘26 class, one that is missing superstar talent outside of Stokes — he’s worth the price of admission. The players are good, but they’re flawed. Tools, but maybe not the most skilled, and vice versa. Can shoot well and score, but can’t guard a lick. Gritty defensively, but limited on the other end — and the list goes on. That leads to some interesting conversations not only with Kentucky, but all college coaches as they weigh high school targets and their cost compared to older, more experienced portal options when the time comes next spring.

Of the talent we have to work with and considering the competitive nature of the event with multiple cuts down to 12 players with a gold medal on the line, there was a lot to like. Stokes and Smith both dealt with early injuries, but looked the part before going down — the former as a do-it-all jumbo wing with small-ball four potential capable of taking games over and the latter a junkyard dog with winning DNA. Their desire to claw back and play rather than going home is a story in itself, Smith actually withdrawing in the first round of cuts before sticking around and fighting through the pain to make the 15-member finalist group.

Elsewhere, Rippey was a personal favorite, combining burst, defense and competitive edge as a floor general. Holt had some of that same fire with an unmatched motor compared to the competition. McCoy’s offensive production has sputtered — a leg injury derailed his junior high school season and he opted out of AAU ball — but he’s arguably the best defender in the class and showed it in Colorado Springs while playing with prove-it desperation after seeing his stock fall a bit. That was refreshing to see. Crowe and Ariza also had their moments, the former as a microwave scorer and the latter as a toolsy, athletic wing — both far too inconsistent, however. The same can be said for Collins, who is clearly physically gifted, but still putting it all together. Kinney is the interesting one, though, just days removed from a dynamite NBPA Top 100 Camp and finding pockets of scoring brilliance at U19 Training Camp while being obviously fatigued. He’s clearly got it, but just didn’t have the legs to keep up, if that makes sense.

Of that group, consider Stokes, Kinney, Crowe and Rippey among those with the most Kentucky traction.

Dangerous incoming freshmen

If I were to single out the top three performers in the event, I’d pretty easily go with Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Arizona’s Koa Peat and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, likely in that order. Brown was a human flamethrower and had a superstar it factor at the point guard position while Peat was the most consistent producer on both ends and Dybantsa is Dybantsa — a future All-NBA wing with the highest highs of anybody, and it’s not particularly close. He had a stretch of dominance that left the entire gym picking their jaws up off the floor, and you should expect more of that in Provo. He’s special.

The Cats got two good ones, but they’re not alone, unfortunately. Brown, Peat and Dybantsa should be among three of the best freshmen in college basketball next season.