Mark Pope goes in-depth on Kentucky's trio of 2025 commits: 'They fit the way we play.'

Since Wednesday, all three of Mark Pope‘s class of 2025 commits have signed the necessary papers with the University of Kentucky. They’re all officially Wildcats and will start their college careers with the 2025-26 season.

Now that the trio of high school recruits have put pen to paper, Pope can officially talk about them to the media. Which is what he did during his weekly Thursday afternoon press conference at the Joe Craft Center.

But before he dove into the personalities and on-court games of Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, and Acaden Lewis, Pope took a step back to explain why he enjoys coaching basketball at Kentucky. Don’t worry, it connects to his thoughts on the commits. He specifically mentioned a couple of current players who played big roles in Tuesday night’s win over Duke. Pope talked about how those two want to be playing at the University of Kentucky and how they realize they’re a part of something special.

“I got to sit next to Otega (Oweh) and Andrew Carr postgame after our last game, and just listen to them answer questions and them talk about what this program is and what it means for them to be here,” Pope said. “It’s beautiful actually. These are kids that are seeing something way bigger than just themselves. And they care about the right things. It’s guys that I want to coach.”

Those are the types of players he’s looking for in the high school ranks — first and foremost. Will they appreciate what it means to play for the Wildcats? If the answer is yes, then the first of his three boxes is checked off. The second box? Being talented, of course.

“All three of these guys that have jumped in so far, are top-level guys in the country and now they’ve all proven it. They’ve all done it in different ways,” Pope said. “And then the third thing is they fit us. They fit the way we play on a basketball court. Their skillset really vibes with how we want to attack this game.”

That third one might just be the most important. Pope said later in his press conference that sometimes he’ll run into a situation where he has to turn down recruits who check the first two boxes but don’t exactly line up with the third. Even if the kid is a great person and has plenty of talent, if they ultimately don’t fit Pope’s system, it might not be a good marriage.

It’s a very calculated approach, as it should be. But Pope has found three (and could very well add a fourth in five-star forward Caleb Wilson in the coming months) that check off the most important areas he’s looking for. Pope broke down all three of Johnson, Moreno, and Lewis, explaining what they’ll bring to Lexington next season.

You can read his full quotes below on the future ‘Cats.

6-4 SG Jasper Johnson (5-star, No. 14)

“Jasper Johnson is just danger, danger, danger, danger, right? He just is a dangerous gravity guy. He just demands that if you’re not going to pay attention to him with more than one body, anywhere he is on the court probably, he’s gonna hurt you, and he can really, really, really score the ball. And he’s got a kindness about him that’s really special. And he knows Kentucky, right? All one thing that’s great about all three of these guys is they have emotional reaction when they pull on a t-shirt that has Kentucky across the chest, right? They have emotional response. Jasper Johnson has a chance to be a really, really special player here in Kentucky, for sure.”

7-0 C Malachi Moreno (4-star, No. 29)

“Malachi Moreno is probably the best center in all of high school basketball, and he fits us also. Every time I see him, he’s grown a little bit bigger than me, and he likes to rub it in. He puts his arm around me like I’m a little boy. I can’t decide if I hate that or if I love it. Mixed feelings on that. You talk about a great human being, what he does with his spare time, how he’s reached out to people in his community and people with special needs and people that don’t have any needs at all. He’s a special, special human being. He’s massive, and he’s an elite level passer, and he’s got — you meet him and you think, Oh, this guy is just the nicest, biggest dude I’ve ever met, but when he gets in the fray, in the mix, there’s a little bit of violence and determination that comes out of him that was really fun for me to see. And so we got three, three terrific players so far in this class. We’re really excited.”

6-2 PG Acaden Lewis (4-star, No. 30)

“Acaden Lewis is a floor general supreme. He’s a locker room leader, just watching him roll through the summer and hearing — you know, we’re recruiting a lot of guys, and the guys talk about each other. And I don’t know if there’s a guy that’s more universally like than Acaden Lewis. And how great to have a point guard that’s that way, right? That’s what you want. He is a playmaking point guard. Every play he can make. His vision is elite. He’s wildly skilled. He can get wherever he wants to go on the floor. He does it in a way that’s reproducible. He’s got a toughness to him and kind of a balance and even-keeled nature about himself that’s really special. And he earned it. Like in the spring, he was maybe in a space where he was walking around trying toshop himself a little bit. And then by mid-summer, he was trying to tell people ‘Stop bothering me, man. I can’t talk to every single school in the country,’ and he earned it, like he earned it every single day. And I think he’s a beautiful kid.”

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.