This is the first time I've seen Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno play live and up close. I've watched some games online and some of the evalutaion will come from that. I believe he wasn't able to showcase all his skill level here for a variety of reasons. Hence I'll refer to some of that here. I am a Lexington, Kentucky native and still watch the Kentucky Sweet 16 State Tournament online. Here we go:
MALACHI MORENO, 7'0" center, Class of 2025, Great Crossing (Georgetown, Kentucky) vs Bellaire (TX). 247 composite 27th ranked. 247 sports 24th ranked. Travel team: Indiana Elite.
Stats: 21 points (6-8 FG, 0-1 3PT, 9-12 FT) 14 rebounds (double/double) 1 assist 3 turnovers 1 block
Great Crossing 64 Bellaire (TX) 63 Final. January 4th, 2025. Highland, IL. 33rd Annual Highland Optimist Shootout
STRENGTHS:
Good hands, catches everything no matter if pass is high or low to him in the post or on the perimeter. Soft touch on his jumper and in the paint. Uses the glass on his shots in the paint. Good passer from the high post. Rebounds at a high level on the defensive end, pretty good on the offensive glass. Does it outside his area as well as in his area. Changes ends of the floor well, glides up the court in a fluid way. Rim protects at a high level only had 1 block but Bellaire did not challenge him in the paint. He altered a lot of shots and made players dribble back out to perimeter or pass out to the three point line. Posts up strong in the paint and calls for the ball. Plays low, bends knees and gives a good target to the passer. Posts up deep in the paint, and can catch the lob over the defense. Moves feet well on the perimeter as his man couldn't blow by him off the dribble. Will be special at the dunk spot in college.
WEAKNESSES:
Brings ball down too much when he catches the ball in the post. Had the ball stolen multiple times by guards when he caught it in the paint. Has to be stronger grabbing offensive rebounds as ball was knocked loose a couple of times. Has to play stronger on the block when shooting a shot with guys foulng him. Had at least three times he was fouled at the basket should have been a three point play opportunity. Needs to get better guarding on the perimeter as his opposite number hit four threes in the game. Has to get better contesting three point shots. Needs to use his size to better contest jumpers on the close outs. This is problem with most bigs so he's the rule these days not the exception here.
CONCLUSION: Future pro (NBA) player. Dependng on how quickly he develops at Kentucky could be a one and done, or if it's slower two to three year college player. Most big men are slow developers but Moreno is so fluid with his movements on the court, changing ends, soft touch, and great vision as a passer from the high post, and off the block. Will be great in Coach Mark Pope's offense. Nice stroke from outside though he shot only one three here. It looked very fluid and textbook stroke. Great potential hitting threes and mid range jumpers. As he gets stronger in college he'll be able to play stronger in the paint, and convert those finishes through contact. Some of this could be affected by the wrap on his right (shooting) hand and wrist. I've seen him in the past dunk anything that is within miles of the rim. Some of the shots he took may have been to protect his hand/wrist. He knows when to go after a shot and when not to. Very intelligent young man who stayed out of foul trouble most of the game though he ended up with four fouls. One of them was to stop the clock. Did his work today without talking trash, just went about his business and let his game show. Kentucky fans will be happy with this young man and his devleopment. Should end up a McDonald's All-American. Had a great Adidas 3SSB playoffs last summer.
GREAT CROSSING BASKETBALL TEAM: I feel Moreno was underutilized in this game. Needs to get more than 8 shots. Should have at least 15 in a game. I watched you guys play last year in the Kentucky Sweet 16 at Central Bank Center. Checked it out online. There were multiple times Moreno had prime post position and had buried his man. Guards either didn't see him or just didn't throw the ball into him in this game. Same thing happened in semifinal vs eventual champion Lyon County. Moreno is such an unselfish player and has great vision he'll pass the ball to the shooters out of the post. You have two good snipers in Vince Dawson III, and Gage Richardson who loosens defenses. You have a monster in the paint, utilize him. He opened up some shots in the lane for your guards that they missed. Moreno gets so much attention he opens things up for the rest of the players on the floor. He can step out and hit threes, but he's not needed to do that a lot with your team. He has a good mid range jump shot that he didn't get to shoot in the game.
Get him the ball a little more, he'll rebound harder, rim protect harder and make things easier for the rest of the team. I see a state title contender in Kentucky for this team. My opinion is get him more touches in the paint, they may not neccessarily be more shots. He'll get plenty of attention in there that it will open up lanes for the rest of the team. Remember? He's a Top 25-30 player in America in his class. Blessings the rest of the season and go be great.
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