Kentucky signees Jasper Johnson, left, and Malachi Moreno.
Kentucky signees Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno have both been named to the 26th Nike Hoop Summit roster along with some of the nation’s elite high school players.
The USA team will play a world team of top international players 19 and young on April 12 in Portland, Ore. The game will be televised on the USA Network and streamed on Peacock.
Johnson was part of the 2024 USA under 18 national team that won the gold medal at the FIBA AmeriCup in Argentina last summer.
Johnson and Moreno have participated in two USA junior national team minicamps but this will be Moreno’s USA Basketball competitive debut.
Johnson, a combo guard, is playing for Overtime Elite’s RWE out of Atlanta this season and is averaging 20.7 points, 5.8 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 61 percent from 2-point range and 36.3 from 3. He’s also hitting 77 percent at the foul line.
Moreno, a 7-foot center at Great Crossing High School, is averaging 21.4 points and 14.8 points per game. He is shooting 68.7 percent overall for Great Crossing (14-4) and is 1-for-7 from 3. He has gone to the foul line 125 times and hit 73, a 58.4 percent mark.
Johnson played his first two high school seasons at Woodford County High School before transferring to Link Academy in Missouri last season. He will be back playing at Woodford County Feb. 2 as part of the Court XIV Classic. He played in the inaugural event last year and scored 36 points on 9-for-10 shooting from 3.
RWE will play Huntington (W.V.) at 7 p.m. Host Woodford will play Taylor County in the first game with Trinity facing North Laurel in the second game.
“We want to try and make this event bigger every year,” Dennis Johnson, Jasper’s father and the Woodford athletics director/head football coach, said.
The event was started to honor the memory of Alvis Johnson, Dennis’ father and Jasper’s grandfather.
Dennis Johnson admitted he definitely “cut the deal” for RWE to play in this event before Jasper signed with Overtime Elite.
“Huntington Prep has a really good team with two or three terrific prospects,” Dennis Johnson said. “Jayden Johnson (of Trinity) is a big-time prospect. All the games will have some very good players.”
Former Kentucky prep star Taylor Kinney also plays for RWE. He was a standout the last two years at Newport High School before transferring for his junior season. The 6-1 guard is averaging 21.7 points, 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
“I think he will be a big draw. He’s having a phenomenal junior season,” Dennis Johnson said.
He received a Kentucky scholarship offer in August and the 16-year-old guard recently cut his 30 plus scholarship offer list to 15 schools:
Louisville, Purdue, Kentucky, Xavier, Arkansas, Cincinnati are the programs Kinney is currently hearing from the most, as the 16-year-old explained following the recent road victory over the Diamond Doves.
On Christmas, Kinney trimmed a monstrous list consisting of 30+ offers down to 15: Kentucky, Auburn, Louisville, Kansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Alabama, Kansas State, Purdue, Xavier, Notre Dame, Arkansas, and Cincinnati.
* * *
Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://www.simpletix.com/e/court-xiv-classic-lexington-2025-tickets-200803. Johnson said the new gym seats about 2,500 and he expects a capacity crowd.
