Malachi Moreno had a strong message for Jasper Johnson after his commitment announcement

Will Kentucky land both elite prospects from Kentucky in the 2025 class?

Team Thad’s Jasper Johnson (2) jumps in the air to dunk the ball during a game against Team Oak Soldiers during the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League session one on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at the Memphis Sports & Event Center in Memphis, Tenn. / Stu Boyd II-The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mark Pope and the Kentucky coaching staff just landed their first player in the 2025 class as the number one center in the class Malachi Moreno just chose the Wildcats. Moreno is from Kentucky, and he plays his high school hoops at Great Crossing High School in Georgetown.

After announcing that he would play his college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, Moreno immediately shouted out the other elite player from the Bluegrass State, Jasper Johnson. This elite guard currently plays for Overtime Elite in Atlanta, but he is from Kentucky and previously attended Woodford County High School where his dad is the head football coach.

After Moreno picked Kentucky, one of the last things he said before celebrating with his family was, "You know where home is at Jasper." Now that Moreno has made it official with Kentucky, his new job is going to be recruiting his fellow Kentuckian Johnson to play for Coach Pope.

It seemed like Kentucky was way behind in this race, but the new development is that Coach Pope was given some more NIL money to throw at Johnson. Now, the offers from Alabama and Kentucky NIL-wise are close enough for Johnson's decision to be based purely on program fit.

Moreno picking Kentucky is definitely going to help the Wildcats land Johnson, who is one of the best shooters in the 2025 class. Johnson would make a ton of threes in Rupp Arena if he picked Kentucky, so the coaching staff has to get this done. Moreno is going to do everything in his power to make sure Johnson picks Kentucky.