4-Point Play: Recruiting picks up as summer practice slows down

We’ve officially hit our late-summer wall, folks. The Cats are on break before returning to campus on August 22, followed by the start of preseason workouts on August 26. Until then, they’re back home enjoying time off with friends and family taking well-deserved vacations — coaches included.

Great for them, rough for us, right? The pause for them means a pause for us in this news cycle with nothing coming out of Lexington for a couple of weeks. No practice highlights or media opportunities to keep us entertained until the team returns at the end of the month. And now The Basketball Tournament and the 2024 Paris Olympics are over, taking away the distractions that got us through the dog days of summer.

That doesn’t mean it’s completely dead, though. Recruiting is ramping up in a major way with a few other notes to keep track of tonight on 4-Point Play. Let’s get rolling, shall we?

Koby Brea invited to Dame Lillard’s Formula Zero Elite Camp

The Cats won’t be away from basketball completely. In fact, one of them is actually serving as a camp counselor at Damian Lillard’s Formula Zero Elite Camp in Phoenix, Arizona from August 14-17. Kentucky sharpshooter Koby Brea has been selected as one of 20 college counselors to attend camp, joining the likes of Ohio State’s Aaron Bradshaw, North Carolina’s Ian Jackson, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, Kansas’ AJ Storr and Louisville’s James Scott, among others.

Brea and the college counselors will be joined by 20 of the top high school players in the nation, a list that also includes many familiar faces — highlighted by some major Kentucky recruiting targets.

Among them? Darryn Peterson, Jasper Johnson, Tounde Yessoufou, Mikel Brown Jr. and Acaden Lewis.

A current Cat will be learning from one of the greatest scorers of all time while also working with many potential future Cats. Maybe Brea will bring one or two of them back to Lexington to suit up in blue and white next season?

Kentucky targets thrive at UA Next Elite 24

Speaking of recruiting, a few other top targets suited up in the UA Next Elite 24 in New York, one of the top annual summer showcases featuring the best of the best high school basketball has to offer.

Acaden Lewis was a participant before making the trip to Phoenix for the Formula Zero Elite Camp. He was joined by fellow Kentucky recruits Nate Ament, Malachi Moreno and Tay Kinney, among others.

Kinney showed flashes as one of the younger players in the event, but it was the trio of ’25 targets standing out from the pack in the prestigious showcase. Ament, the top-rated of the bunch as a top-10 prospect, finished with 16 points on 3-7 shooting from deep while Lewis went for a well-rounded 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. As for Moreno, he played like the No. 1 center in the rising senior class and a top-25 player, adding 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Potentially Kentucky’s first commit of 2025, the Georgetown native did it all on both ends of the floor.

2025 Malachi Moreno in action at the UA Elite 24 game. pic.twitter.com/eWbJBS14BY

— RareFootage (@RareFootageNews) August 11, 2024

Malachi Moreno is staying home for his senior year

Speaking of Moreno, whispers of the in-state standout leaving Great Crossing for prep school have always lingered, but they grew louder to open the week — specifically a potential move to IMG Academy in Florida.

Any truth to the chatter? The four-star center wants to put the talk to rest, confirming he will be staying put at Great Crossing, hoping to lead the Warhawks to a state championship in his final season of high school basketball.

“I’m staying home,” he told KSR on Monday.

That decision is over with (or lack thereof). Now, Moreno turns his attention toward a college commitment, deciding between a final list of Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Things are trending in the right direction for the Wildcats with a decision expected ahead of the early signing period. We’ll see if Mark Pope can keep him home, just as Great Crossing did to close out his high school career.

Braylon Mullins, Jasper Johnson named top shooters in 2025

Why stop there with recruiting talk? On3’s Jamie Shaw featured a few Kentucky targets in his latest piece singling out the best shooters in 2025 — one being the first name mentioned.

The Wildcats are gaining traction with four-star guard Braylon Mullins, who will take an official visit to Lexington on October 22. What could they be getting in his addition?

“For starters, the numbers support Braylon Mullins’ shooting. But looking past the 41.7 percent on 8.8 attempts per game this summer you see the true value in his shooting capabilities,” Shaw said of the standout guard. “First off, he consistently pulls gravity. Opposing teams have to stay attached, which can be difficult as he has learned to move off the ball, working with screens, and finding the soft spot in the defense.

“He has good footwork and is comfortable, especially coming from right to left, shooting off movement. With an unconscious trigger, his release can be inconsistent, but he gets his shoulders squared and his shot load is repeatable no matter the depth of the shot.”

Perfect fit for Coach Pope. Elsewhere, Jasper Johnson also made the cut as “one to watch.”

“Jasper Johnson’s threat of shooting range and his unwavering confidence are very real,” Shaw added. “Despite only making 27.5 percent from three on Nike’s EYBL Circuit this summer Johnson has deep range and can get hot in a hurry. With the 6-foot-4 shooting guard, it is all about developing his footwork and finding his balance points. While shooting sub-30 from three on 8.3 attempts per game this summer, he did connect on 89.3 percent of his free throws. He has a natural shooting touch and plays with unwavering confidence. It is worth watching over the next few months what steps he takes, even if he has not fully tapped into it yet, there is a high ceiling here as a shooter.”

We’ll know in the next two weeks where he’ll be playing in college.