Mark Pope, Kentucky coaches hit the recruiting trail on Friday

Running from Friday (June 21) through Sunday (June 23), college coaches will be permitted by the NCAA to evaluate high school prospects in person. There are dozens of NCAA-approved events happening all over the country featuring some of the best prospects around.

Over in Shelbyville, KY, the annual KABC Titan Shootout is underway where five-star point guard Jasper Johnson, four-star center Malachi Moreno, and a couple of other Kentucky targets will be in action. The Wildcats’ new head coach Mark Pope arrived at Collins High School on Friday afternoon to get a front-row seat for both Johnson and Moreno, who played back-to-back.

Johnson, a 6-foot-4 sharpshooter who spent last season playing for Link Academy (MO), suited up for his previous school, Woodford County, before jetting off to his Illinois official visit. Johnson scored 13 points in the Yellow Jackets’ 52-36 win over Fern Creek (KY).

Meanwhile, Moreno and Great Crossing cruised past Seneca by a final score of 72-48. Moreno, a skilled seven-footer, finished with a dominant double-double effort in the blowout win. He’s coming off an unofficial visit to Lexington where he was re-offered by Pope and the Kentucky coaching staff.

Elsewhere, Kentucky associate head coach Alvin Brooks is in familiar territory. After spending the last eight seasons as an assistant at Baylor, Brooks has plenty of connections to the state of Texas. He’s spending the day at the TABC Boys Showcase (Irving, TX) to check out the likes of four-star Shelton Henderson, who went for 28 points in Bellaire’s one-point win over Killeen.

Henderson, a strong 6-foot-6 wing, is ranked No. 30 by the On3 Industry Ranking. He first heard from the new Kentucky staff in May and is in regular talks with Brooks. Henderson is also being recruited by the likes of Houston, Louisville, LSU, Texas, and Texas Tech.

How about assistant coach Cody Fueger? He’s double-dipping in the Washington metropolitan area at DC Live and DMV Live in Washington, DC and Hyattsville, MD, respectively.

Among the standouts at those two events? Sidwell Friends School’s Acaden Lewis, Combine Academy’s Kaden Magwood and Highland School’s Nate Ament, who put forth one of the most ridiculous stat lines you will ever read: 41 points, 27 rebounds, six blocks.

Not a bad first day to open the June Scholastic Live Period.