Kentucky’s newest basketball stars and their head coach landed in Colorado Springs, ready to start training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. They arrived together on a private jet, excited for a camp that could shape their summer and their future in college basketball.
Mark Pope’s Team USA Debut Signals New Era for Kentucky Basketball
The scene at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center carries extra weight this week as Mark Pope makes his official Team USA coaching debut. Serving as one of four on-court coaches alongside North Carolina’s Hubert Davis, Alabama’s Nate Oats, and Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire, Pope finds himself in elite company for the 2025 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team training camp.
View this post on Instagram
For the 52-year-old Pope, who captained Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team, this represents more than just a coaching opportunity; it’s a chance to work with his incoming freshmen Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno while evaluating future recruiting targets. The camp, running from June 14 to June 22, will produce a 12-member roster from the initial 32 players for the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland.
Johnson, the 6-foot-4 multi-skilled top-quality combo guard from Lexington, will be with Colorado Springs. This southpaw had a magnificent performance of 20.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game for Real Wild Energy in the Overtime Elite League. He also played for the national team, winning a gold medal at the 2024 FIBA U19 AmeriCup, where he made 42.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
Moreno, the 7-foot-1 big man originating from Georgetown, Kentucky, was a one-man show in the high school league with 21.5 points and an impressive 14.9 rebounds per game, and a remarkable 71.7 field goal percentage. The high school star, who was also named Mr. Kentucky Basketball, has a new feature as a McDonald’s All-American. This is the second year he has attended the training camp.
Upon working with Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, head coach, and assistants Grant McCasland of Texas Tech and Micah Shrewsberry of Notre Dame at the training camp, the evaluation period will determine Pope’s efforts to find exactly who makes the team. When the finalists of the team selection were published on June 16 and the last 12 members were chosen by June 21, each practice was representative of the championship series.
Apart from Kentucky fans, who are thrilled about Pope’s international involvement and leadership of Johnson and Moreno, this moment also highlights the program’s promising potential under their beloved former captain, now turned head coach.
