By ADAM ZAGORIA & MATT WHITFIELD
Malachi Moreno, the 6-foot-11, four-star Class of 2025 center from Georgetown, Ky., has cut his list to eight schools, he confirmed to ZAGSBLOG.
Moreno is considering Notre Dame, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State, Louisville, Iowa and North Carolina.
Moreno grew up watching college basketball, not just Kentucky.
And despite being from Kentucky he has never had a dream school. Still, he sounded ecstatic about the Wildcats hiring of Mark Pope.
“Coach [Mark] Pope wants to bring banner No. 9,” he told ZAGSBLOG at USA Basketball mini-camp. “He sold out a press conference. He’s got some class and he knows what he’s doing because he played there and he won a championship.”
North Carolina has also recently offered and Moreno has recently chatted with head coach Hubert Davis. “I love UNC,” he said. “I love Coach Sean May. Me and Coach Davis talked the other week and it was a pretty good conversation. He’s a very funny guy. And it’s just a fun atmosphere to be around.”
Indiana was an early school to get involved with Moreno.
“Indiana, I consider them a blue blood to be honest,” he said. “They have been involved in my recruitment since I was a freshman. And I have only grown tighter and closer with them ever since.”
He plans to take visits in late summer or early fall.
“I’ll definitely take one to Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio State,” he said. “I already took an official to Iowa, but I will definitely try and make it back up there.”
Moreno was announced among the 18 finalists for Team USA, but didn’t end up making the final 12-man team
“It’s a great experience,” he said. “It’s like no other camp in the world. And it definitely shapes you to be a better player.”
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