Malachi Moreno says Mark Pope being at USA Basketball Training Camp was 'like a cheat code'

Malachi Moreno didn’t spend as much time with USA Basketball as Jasper Johnson this summer due to a minor injury, but it was valuable all the same. Not only did the freshman big man get to hone his skills against some of the top players in the country, but he also got to do it with his new coach, Mark Pope, on the floor. Pope served as an assistant during Team USA’s U19 Training Camp, giving Moreno and Johnson a sneak peek of what is in store for them at Kentucky.

“It was a great experience overall,” Moreno said of training camp on Thursday. “I was kind of almost like a cheat code with Coach [Pope] being there, being able to get a real look at how he coaches, and being able to see what it will be like when we come back. And also being able to play against other top guys in the country kind of made all of us a lot better, and kind of just got us a little more prepared for what’s to come.”

Moreno did not make the cut from 32 players to 18 at the training camp, a mutual decision between him and the coaching staff after he suffered a minor injury. On Thursday, he told reporters that the injury was a minor hip strain, which he rehabbed once back in Lexington. Giving up on the chance to make the final roster wasn’t easy, but Moreno knows it was the right call.

“It was a real tough decision [to leave training camp], but I kind of just chose to come back here, build the team chemistry, and get healthy, and it’s kind of going away now, and I feel like I’m able to move a little bit quicker, move a little bit better, after doing a lot of treatment, a lot of rehab on it. I feel like it’s just gotten better and kind of just gone away.”

Pope and Moreno returned from Colorado Springs on the same day, rejoining the team, which had just started summer practices. After getting a small taste of Pope’s coaching at training camp, he couldn’t wait.

“This is going to be such an easy coach to play for,” Moreno said of his first impressions of Pope as a coach. “He’s a big teacher, and I’m just here to be a sponge and just listen and kind of just take what he says and hopefully apply it to my game.”

Also beneficial to Moreno: Pope’s experience as a big. Moreno said Pope doesn’t hesitate to jump in and show the bigs some moves from time to time, advice that’s already paying off.

“It helps out a lot. When we do skill groups, he comes down to where the bigs kind of work on their skills, and he’s a real big teacher in it, and I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better just with my back-to-the-basket play and also kind of being able to use my physicality to my advantage. I think he’s been very beneficial with that.”

It’s been a month and a half since Pope and Moreno returned from Colorado Springs. During that time, Moreno has enjoyed getting to know his new coach off the court as well.

“That he’s more than just a basketball coach. He’s been a real, real father figure. Always asks me about my personal life, and it’s been very, very helpful with anything I really need.”

Like his coach, Moreno understands the assignment at Kentucky — maybe even more than his teammates who didn’t grow up in the Commonwealth. Under Pope’s tutelage, he’s looking forward to carrying it through.

“I’ve got one goal and one goal only, and that’s to win number nine. Whether I play five minutes or 25 minutes [per game], as long as we’re winning, I couldn’t care less.”

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