Malachi Moreno (Les Nicholson Photo)
Two Kentucky basketball commits are among the 83 players expected to participate in the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamp from Oct. 11-13 at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno were selected along with the other players by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee.
The players will be involve din drills and scrimmages but will also be exposed to a series of educational programs focusing on life skill development.
“The USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamps are an important part of many elite players’ journeys and we are looking forward to hosting this elite group of players,” said USA Basketball Men’s National Team director and committee chair Sean Ford. “It is exciting to see the commitment to the program from all these athletes, new and experienced, as these opportunities are great for growth on and off the court.”
Minicamp participants will represent the high school graduating classes of 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 and includes some of the nation’s highest rated prospects.
Here are other players selected from the various graduating classes:
2025 — Darius Acuff Jr., Dante Allen, Nate Ament, Kiyan Anthony, Mikel Brown Jr., Brayden Burries, Chris Cenac Jr., Hudson Greer, Jalen Haralson, Isiah Harwell, Shelton Henderson, Nikolas Khamenia, Nykolas Lewis, Trey McKenney, Kayden Mingo, Mazi Mosley, Koa Peat, Xavion Staton, Jaden Toombs and Sadiq White.
2026 — Davion Adkins, Kayden Allen, Alijah Arenas, Tajh Ariza, Toni Bryant, Christian Collins, Jason Crowe Jr., Caleb Gaskins, Cameron Holmes, Caleb Holt, Taylen Kinney, Brandon McCoy Jr., Dylan Mingo, Jalen Montonati, Adam Oumiddoch, Deron Rippey Jr., Jordan Smith Jr. and Elijah Williams.
2027 — Nasir Anderson, Beckham Black, Malachi Booker, Devin Cleveland, Mason Collins, Derek Daniels, Cayden Daughtry, Jarvis Hayes Jr., Tyrone Jamison, Jeremy Jenkins Jr., Malachi Jordan, Joshua Leonard, Jaylan Mitchell, Babatunde Oladotun, Jordan Page, Henry Robinson Jr., CJ Rosser, Taj Saragba, Marcus Spears, Griffin Starks, Eden Vinyard and Darius Wabbington.
2028 — Ian Archbold, Josh Augmon, Dylan Betts, Logan Chwaystk, Brielen Craft, Erick Dampier Jr., Adan Diggs, Myles Hayes, Terrell Jackson, Cole Kelly, Bentley Lusakueno, Parker McDaniel, Kameron Mercer, Jaalen Boss Mhoon, Jordan Mize, Will Nelson Jr., Brady Pettigrew, Miles Simpson, Kevin Wheatley Jr., AJ Williams and Quinton Wilson.
2 Responses
We were recruiting Hudson Greer hot and heavy and then all of a sudden crickets. I don’t even think they offered him a scholarship? Why? He should easily be top 5 in the class. With all the talk about Cooper Flagg you would think people would be mentioning Hudson Greer to because when they played each others teams. Hudson was neck and neck with Cooper in every statistical category. Often players are overrated and we have seen a ton of those guys with Cal as the coach. The last #1 recruiting class should show you the real picture of being a one and done recruit. We supposedly had 3 one and dones last year Wagner Edwards and Bradshaw. Edwards was a one and done but we all know how awful he played all year. Wagner played ok until his injury then it got bad. Bradshaw is a stick and is useless unless he gains 20 pounds of muscle. He had 1 or 2 good games. These 3 guys were top 5 recruits. None of them looked like it this last year. Don’t believe the ranking of any recruit until you see them play against a good team. Some recruits play great against Murray State but when they play the Dukes and Alabama’s they are useless at best. One thing I’m happy about is Pope actually recruits Kentucky. Thank God. I’d like to see Magwood get a scholarship offer. He’s better than DJ Wagner and I think he’s rated #50s-70s depending on what site your looking at. He’s very underrated and if we dont get him he might end up at Louisville and we will wish we would have got him when he’s scorching the nets in Lexington. IJS I don’t like the ratings it gives you a little idea of how good a guy is but often times people are rated because of their names. Just think next year we will have 4 Kentucky boys on the team. I think Noah comes around next year. I think Perry gets more minutes but not to many. Next year Perry starts at Point guard. Noah will probably play the 3. Let me ask this question??????? Will Perry or Noah make the 1,000 point club??? I think Perry will and Noah might.
Remember I said Andrew Carr is a poor mans Larry Bird he will lead this team in scoring over Robinson. He plays very intelligent basketball. He would have started over all the 5* players last year too. He’s not a Cal guy. He’s exactly what you need and what we’ve been missing. You could also say that about alot of the players on this team. That’s why this team will do great in the tournament. I don’t know what kind of regular season we will have maybe in the 25 win range starting the sec or NCAA tournament. I do however think we will go very far and we will have solid point guard play as well. Next year with Perry Noah Chandler Garrison Oweh Johnson and Moreno that’s a solid nucleus. Perry Chandler Oweh Moreno Garrison would be a killer starting 5.