USAB experience a blessing for Johnson, Moreno -- but also a 'cheat sheet' working with Pope

Jasper Johnson won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2024 FIBA Men’s U18 AmeriCup last summer — plus three other Men’s Junior National Team minicamps and the 2025 USA Men’s Nike Hoop Summit. Malachi Moreno has been to two minicamps and the Nike Hoop Summit before this training camp experience for the 2025 USA Men’s U19 National Team in Colorado Springs.

They’re comfortable wearing USA across their chests and representing Kentucky on the national and world stages at this point, but that doesn’t mean the experience ever gets old. It’s always a humbling honor for the in-state talents starting their debut seasons in Lexington.

“It’s good being able to come out here and compete against a lot of the top guys in the country, getting up and down and getting in shape, conditioning,” Johnson told KSR at U19 Training Camp. “It’s been a great field, it’s great to be able to come out here and get a feel for the game before going into practices (in Lexington).”

“It means a lot, being from the U.S.A. and being able to represent my country against some of the top talent in the world,” Moreno added. “It’s great.”

This time was different, though, Mark Pope coming along for the ride as a court coach with the likes of Nate Oats (Alabama), Hubert Davis (North Carolina) and Damon Stoudamire (Georgia Tech) also serving in support staff roles. Tommy Lloyd (Arizona) is the head coach while Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame) are assistant coaches.

The competition is great, starting with 32 of the best U19 players in the country throwing haymakers back and forth in the gym before the field was cut to 18 and eventually 12. It was a chance for Johnson and Moreno to prove themselves against the best of the best — and they did just that.

It was also a chance, though, for Pope to get some extended one-on-one time with both of his Wildcats without restriction, beyond the four hours of individual instruction per week over eight weeks that the NCAA allows back home during summer workouts. They were able to clear that number together in a single weekend in Colorado Springs.

The appetizer before the entree, if you will.

“It’s good. It’s like the first time being coached by him on the court, so it’s good to be able to come out here, him being my head coach here before I get to Kentucky,” Johnson said. “He’s teaching me and telling me things that he wants to see for me. And I’m trying to execute those things.”

“This is kind of like a little cheat sheet almost, you know?” Moreno added. “It’s great being able to have him as a coach and being able to coach me before we head back.”

What are some of the things Pope taught them during his four sessions in attendance as a coach, starting Saturday night and wrapping up Monday morning?

“Make sure I’m playing off two feet, shooting it every time I’m open. He wants me to be confident every time I shoot,” Johnson told KSR. “(I’m) just doing whatever I can to impact the game — whether that’s scoring, shooting, getting to the paint, making extra passes, defending at a high level, doing anything in the aspect of the game to make an impact.”

“Being a good rebounder, being a good big, but also protecting the ball at the same time and winning catches,” Moreno said. “Making sure when I’m spinning, I keep the ball close to my chin. Whenever it’s a post touch, I just got to win the ball and win my position.”

Moreno got a little banged up and decided to pull out, rejoining the Wildcats in Lexington during the first run of cuts. Johnson, however, made the final 18 and is trending toward earning a spot on the official 12-member roster, heading to Switzerland for the 2025 FIBA World Cup, scheduled for June 28-July 6.

What would that opportunity mean to the Lexington native, potentially earning another gold medal with Team USA?

“It would mean everything,” Johnson said. “This is a blessing, a big opportunity. Not too many kids in the world are able to come out here and try out for U19, so that would be a great experience.”

Pope and Moreno are back at UK to catch up on summer workouts while Johnson keeps rolling in Colorado Springs. No rest for the Wildcats on their pursuit of No. 9 — and gold.