Mark Pope wants to put the ball in Malachi Moreno's hands more

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope knows how valuable Malachi Moreno is on offense.

Jan 21, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24) passes the ball during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

With Jayden Quaintance out, Kentucky basketball has needed someone to emerge for them in the frontcourt. Before his debut against St. John's, it was Malachi Moreno carrying the load for Kentucky's big men. But, Quaintance has been out for seven-straight games, which has called for Moreno to continue producing.

Safe to say, Moreno has really answered the call for Kentucky this season. He is not only the primary big man Mark Pope loves to go through on offense, but he is producing with the ball in his hands. So far in SEC play, Malachi Moreno is 21st in the conference in offensive rating, 9th in offensive rebounding, 19th in defensive and 3rd in block rate. It has been an impressive season all-around for Moreno, who even had a team-high seven assists a couple of games ago.

Mark Pope knows how valuable Moreno is for Kentucky, and he wants to see the ball in his hands more in the post.

"Malachi is in a place right now where we're trying to find ways to force feed him the ball, because he's making such good decisions with all the build up and all of our, like, this dramatic roller coaster ride we've been in and all the uncertainty, we're play-calling for Malachi to put the ball in his hands in the post in the first play of this game, in a really complicated decision-making process where he's actually got a progression of reads that I've actually never asked a big to do exactly this way. And his poise was unbelievable. He felt like the biggest guy on the court today."

The Kentucky native is one of the most-used players on offense for good reason, as playing through a big man is a valuable part of Mark Pope's offense playing at its peak, but the head coach wants to see more paint touches for him, because good things happen when he has the ball, not to mention his game-winner against LSU. On Saturday against Arkansas, Moreno had 11 points, 7 rebounds, an assist and two blocks. No one expected Moreno to take on this type of role, but he has been a bright spot for Kentucky even when things have gone sideways.

In the few times when this team has not actually shown fight, Moreno has been the lone bright spot in those hard times as well. Moving forward, Pope wants to see him with the ball more because he really is the most consistent Wildcat on the floor.