Standouts emerge in early summer workouts for Kentucky: "It's been very competitive."

Youth has popped up in the early returns for this Kentucky team — Mark Pope‘s second in Lexington. Moving in the first week of June, the new guys have had some time to get a feel for each other hanging out around the facilities and going through some loose on-court work. Among the immediate takeaways? The Wildcats have some goofballs.

“The energy, the goofiness off the court. I’ve been seeing that a lot, that’s the biggest difference,” Brandon Garrison said of the difference between last year’s group and this one.

“We got a lot of characters, a lot of young guys who — they’re just excited to be here and it shows,” Otega Oweh added. “That’s always fun, because that’s gonna show in the games and practice. You always just want to have fun too, because it’s basketball — it’s a kid’s sport. You want to try and keep the innocence.”

Two of the newcomers — and among the youngest on the team — agree. Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno are local legends, the former out of Lexington and the latter Georgetown, earning the opportunity to represent Kentucky on the national stage at USA U19 Training Camp in Colorado Springs this week. Preparing to wear their home state across their chests for the first time in college, they took a brief pause on summer workouts in Lexington to fly across the country with Mark Pope to compete against the best 19U talent the sport has to offer.

When they return, it’ll be go time in practice — those already got started for everyone else Monday, “definitely a good day one,” as Trent Noah put it. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t made the most of that early time with teammates before their trip with USA Basketball, especially off the court.

And they’re not beating goofball allegations.

“Everybody always says (I’m the funniest), I don’t know why,” Johnson told KSR in Colorado Springs. “Everybody says me, I’m the funniest dude on the team.”

“It’s just funny, it’s funny when we’re around each other,” Moreno added. “We just sit there and laugh a lot. We just sit there, we joke around with each other, we make each other laugh.”

Their lighthearted approach is working, off-court chemistry leading to on-court chemistry. Again, the real team instruction starts now, but they’ve gotten plenty of pick-up in up to this point and the results are obvious.

There’s confidence the work they put in now and their togetherness will lead to big-time success down the road.

“It’s been good, being with all of the guys and building relationships,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a long season, so we’re trying to come together and win as many games as possible.”

“It’s been great. I feel like the chemistry is already getting there, we’re having fun,” Moreno added. “We’ve been playing some five-on-five, just hanging out together. It kind of shows that we can mingle around, and once the season comes, it won’t be a surprise how much chemistry we really have.”

How have things gone on the floor, especially seeing Pope’s vision of 14 impact scholarship players competing every day come to life? It’s been as advertised — with plenty of trust involved. It’s not the easiest thing in the world with just one basketball and five spots on the floor at any given time, but that’s what summer is for, learning each other and who plays well together to figure out a rotation.

Again, that’s why chemistry is crucial when you build a team as deep as this one.

“It’s been great, just showing that we have multiple guys that can come in and produce, produce good minutes, be helpful in any way we need,” Moreno told KSR.

“It’s been really good. I know Coach Pope has a plan, him and his staff to be able to work in everybody at a high level and fitting the roster with which groups go best with each other and things like that,” Johnson added. “It’s great to have depth. We’re going to need that to be able to win a national championship.”

Who has stood out in the early days of summer — at least before real scrimmages start? This may not shock you, but when you have a ton of talent on a roster, there is going to be a lot to like.

And that leads to a lot of trash talk.

“Everybody. Everybody has been playing well, we’ve just been doing our thing,” Moreno said. “It’s been very competitive. There’s been some trash talk here and there, but that’s kind of a part of the game. I think we should be having fun while we’re playing.”

It’s a great answer, but there has to be someone who turned heads more than most, right? Someone you knew was good, but maybe not this good or brought something different to the table than expected?

The Kentucky boys gave it their best shot.

“I’d probably say Jaland (Lowe),” Johnson told KSR. “I really like his game, he’s very crafty, being able to pass and also score. I’d probably say Jaland was sticking out.”

“Mouhamed (Dioubate), just how — I knew he was strong, but I didn’t know he was that strong,” Moreno added. “How he’s able to use his body to his advantage, that’s something that really stood out to me.”

Those upperclassmen have also been game-changers for the young guys as resources to lean on as they figure out the college game. They may be goofy characters, but nothing is more serious than winning when the ball is tipped and games begin.

They’ll be ready.

“It’s good having everybody there and asking them about their experiences, what was the biggest difference from high school to college,” Johnson said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to prepare myself for day one.”