4-star C Malachi Moreno is "watching a lot of Anthony Davis", planning Kentucky visit
Just 10 current high school juniors hold a scholarship from John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. But only one of them hails from the Bluegrass State.
Malachi Moreno is a name that you’ve likely heard by now if you follow basketball in the state of Kentucky. The 7-foot center out of Great Crossing High School in Georgetown is playing at a high level early into his junior season with the Warhawks, ranked No. 2 in the state. Moreno, who is considered the No. 44 overall class of 2025 prospect by the On3 Industry Ranking, is averaging 15.9 points and 14.4 rebounds on 63.9 percent overall shooting this season with nearly 400 career blocks to his name.
Growing up in Georgetown, Moreno is very familiar with the Kentucky program. He even models his game after a famous former Wildcat, Anthony Davis, who is now a multi-time NBA All-Star with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“My game has definitely expanded. I’m watching a lot of Anthony Davis,” Moreno recently told On3’s Jamie Shaw. “We have a similar build, he had an insane growth spurt in high school, grew to 6-foot-11, and is lanky like me. He could block shots, make threes, score in the mid-post, and all that. So I am just trying to take bits and pieces from his game.”
Moreno is coming off an impressive stretch at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC that saw him lead Great Crossing to a 2-1 mark against high-level out-of-state competition. He exploded for 24 points and 25 rebounds (third-most ever in event history) in the title game against the nation’s No. 14-ranked team, Bishop O’Connell (VA). Although it came in a tight 77-74 double-overtime loss — the lone blemish of the season so far for the Warhawks — those in attendance were left impressed by what they saw from Moreno.
On3’s Jamie Shaw was one of those people. He had the chance to chat with Moreno at the Beach Ball Classic. Moreno discussed a handful of schools and broke down some of his potential upcoming visits. Nothing is set right now, but he’ll “probably get a visit to Arkansas, Indiana, Baylor, Kentucky, and probably USC. Maybe one or two others.”
So far, the only school that Moreno has officially visited was Iowa back in October. But he has been to Lexington for visits to UK before, most notably to check out Big Blue Madness. Assistant coaches Orlando Antigua and Chuck Martin have been in constant communication with the big man.
Moreno went in-depth with Shaw to further break down his thoughts on Kentucky.
KENTUCKY: “The way they allow freshmen to come in and make an immediate impact. Reed Sheppard came from Kentucky and people didn’t think he was going to make as big of an impact as he has. But now he’s a projected top pick on draft boards. It goes to show that Coach Calipari can develop players well and make them NBA players in a short amount of time. Look at the bigs they’ve had and how they come out of high school and make an impact. Look at Aaron Bradshaw this year. He came from a broken foot and is killing it. In his first game back he had to guard arguably the best big in the country with Armando Bacot, and Aaron held his own. It just goes to show how much Coach Cal develops his bigs in a short amount of time.”
Malachi Moreno to On3’s Jamie Shaw
Moreno went on to say that while it’s a “big deal” being recruited by Kentucky as a kid from Kentucky, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a lock to be a Wildcat. He even added that some schools (namely UNC and Duke) are talking with him, but once Kentucky offered in October, they backed off a bit out of fear he’s ultimately land at UK. However, Moreno once again reiterated that his recruitment is wide open.
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