Should Malachi Moreno take over as the starting center for Kentucky?

The biggest wildcard heading into this season for Kentucky basketball was, without question, the true-freshman seven-footer Malachi Moreno. The McDonald's All-American played his high school basketball at Great Crossing in Georgetown, so some questioned how he would adjust to college competition.

Well, those questions were answered quickly as Moreno has been a star for the Wildcats early in his college career. He played well in the exhibition games and put up impressive numbers last night against Nicholls.

Moreno scored five points on 2-5 from the field, but the best part of his performance was the nine rebounds in only 17 minutes. Four of those nine rebounds were offensive, and Coach Mark Pope said after the game that he wants Moreno to pull down four+ offensive boards a game.

Oct 24, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24) shoots a free throw during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The one concern for Moreno in this his first college basketball game was the free throw shooting. He went 1-6 from the charity stripe, accounting for half of the Wildcats' misses. Moreno has drawn a lot of fouls, so he needs to start making his free throws, or this will become a problem.

This question around Moreno is whether or not he should take over as the starter. Brandon Garrison has been the starter to this point for the Wildcats, and the funny thing is, he really hasn't done anything wrong. Garrison had eight points and five rebounds in 23 minutes against the Colonels on Tuesday.

Garrison is playing solid ball, but in some areas, Moreno is just playing better. Rebounding is something that is very important for this basketball team, and to this point in the year, Moreno has been the better rebounder for Pope's team.

Heading into the season, fans were hoping that either Moreno or Garrison would step up until Jayden Quaintance was back on the floor, and the good news is that both of these guys have played well.

The Wildcats have a big game coming up against Louisville on the 11th, and both Moreno and Garrison need to play well in this game. The early-season takeaway from the center position is that Moreno is the best rebounder in this room, and there will be some games where Coach Pope needs to give him more minutes to pull down some boards.

The good news for Kentucky is that heading into the season, this was a concern, but now the Wildcats have a good problem with multiple talented centers.

Would it be smart for Coach Pope to start Moreno over Garrison until Quaintance is back on the floor?