Jasper Johnson 'completely immune' to pressure, Malachi Moreno 'head-spinning good' at USA U19 Training Camp

Malachi Moreno said it was ‘kind of like a little cheat sheet almost’ having Mark Pope with him in Colorado Springs, coaching him up before the real stuff in Lexington this summer. Jasper Johnson appreciated the hands-on instruction, his college coach ‘teaching me and telling me things that he wants to see for me,’ despite the USA Men’s U19 National Team Training Camp technically taking him away from his first week of practice at Kentucky. The time isn’t totally lost — especially with gold on the line, Johnson still in the running for the 12-member roster for the 2025 FIBA World Cup in Switzerland scheduled for June 28-July 6.

Some of that advice Pope shared with his incoming freshmen?

“Being a good rebounder, being a good big, but also protecting the ball at the same time and winning catches,” Moreno told KSR in Colorado Springs. “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.”

“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 added. “(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.”

That’s the players’ perspective, but how about Pope’s angle? It’s a little cheat sheet for him, as well, considering he only gets eight weeks with his players this summer and four hours per week of individual instruction. He was able to work with Johnson and Moreno, without restriction, alongside some of the best U19 talent in the country for a full weekend.

That includes live game reps in scrimmages, drill work and simple face-to-face contact with feedback on their play.

He was pleased with the results, to put it lightly. Both impressed against elite competition and proved why they are consensus top-30 prospects in the 2025 class.

“It was awesome,” Pope told KSR. “It’s the first time I’ve been allowed to coach them, so that was the best part. It’s like a sneak peek into what’s going to be. And both those guys, what a show they put on for those four sessions. They were both incredible, like jaw-dropping great. So, the chance to coach them, the chance to be in some live play, some competition against other players, other great players, I loved that part.

“And I loved getting to see their competitiveness come out, their fearlessness come out, their hearts come out.”

What did he like about each of their performances, Pope spending Saturday night, all of Sunday, and Monday morning with the Wildcats for four total practice sessions?

Johnson put on a scoring clinic against some of the best defenders the U19 age group has to offer while also responding well to physicality and pressure.

“Minus the miscues in the first session, where Jasper turned it over a couple of times… He was incredible,” Pope told KSR. “He’s facing this backcourt group has some of the elite defenders — almost like NBA-level defensive players and he seemed completely immune to that pressure — he was so slippery.

“His decision making was elite, he shot the ball great, he came up with tough rebounds, he kind of showed it all over the floor. He had a great showing… It was fun to see his ability to manage physicality and pressure in the half court. I thought it was really impressive with the ball in his hands.”

As for Moreno, he was ‘head-spinning good,’ as Pope describes it. Maybe the biggest takeaway, something that didn’t even pop up in his own viewing of the 7-foot center? The entire gym was talking about him afterward — exactly what you want to hear as a coach.

He owned the paint on both ends, to put it simply.

“Malachi was unbelievable,” he said. “My gosh, his Sunday morning session was ridiculous, I’m talking about head-spinning good. With this elite-level talent all around the court and in the frontline, I don’t know if I’ve seen a guy dominate eight feet and in like he did. Blocking shots, verticality, on the glass, coming up with extra possessions, rolling hard for dunks… It was spectacular.

“He was in such a rhythm that in transition defense a couple of times, he just was timing up his steps to go send balls into the fourth row. And this is against the best 19 years olds in the world. He was really impressive, man. I thought he had an incredible showing. There was a lot of conversation about Malachi Moreno out here.”

Exactly what you want to see from your standout freshmen against the best of the best.