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Guys, I caught up with one of UC's recent visitors, Malachi Moreno, who was on campus for the Bearcats' homecoming against USF last month.
Malachi Moreno - 4 Star Power forward for Kentucky on CatsIllustrated
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Moreno's recruiting profile has really gone up of late. I'll be surprised if he doesn't get to four-star status. This kid is good. He's got seven offers, including from UC. Indiana, Iowa and Ohio State are the most recent offers here.
It's obviously early and UC is limited on the contact it can have because Moreno is a sophomore. But he told me he really liked visiting practice and how coach Wes Miller was talking to him and making sure he and his dad were involved in what was going on, before and after practice. I don't mean they were literally practicing, I mean, he wanted them to feel welcomed and know what was going on. Moreno said he really appreciated that. He told me assistant coach Andre Morgan has been in contact for more than a year now, so there's some familiarity built, too. Moreno just had good things to say about the coaches, how he loves how they want to win, but take care of those around them.
I didn't realize Moreno also visited Xavier the next day after the UC visit. Musketeers have not offered, but he got to watch practice with them, too. Another case of the coaches keeping in contact throughout the visit. Moreno said at least one coach came up during practice to talk throughout.
The most recent visit was a few weeks ago at Indiana for its Hoosier Hysteria event, what used to be Midnight Madness. "I love Indiana," is the first thing Moreno told me. And again, this is the head coach getting involved. Mike Woodson is the main guy here. Hard to gather a ton of who Moreno likes, but he did get more excited talking about Indiana, so if there's any school that has a slight edge, I think it's IU. Moreno also visited Purdue and Iowa in September, Ohio State in November.
Still early here, but I do think UC is in a good spot, getting Moreno on campus so early. Interesting to see if he takes any in-campus visits. I doubt he goes far, which means there's a good chance he could get to UC, which is about an hour, maybe hour and a half away.
Full story coming.