Fifteen Miles From Rupp, Malachi Moreno Had a Ticket Out. He Chose to Stay.

Malachi Moreno grew up in Georgetown, fifteen miles up I-75 from Rupp Arena — the Kentucky Mr. Basketball who never had to leave home to chase the dream. This spring the dream came looking for him: NBA teams scheduled workouts, first-round whispers trailed a seven-footer who shot 58 percent and made the SEC's All-Freshman team, and the safe move was to cash the check. Then on the Sunday before the May 27 deadline, he called Mark Pope and told him he was coming back. In an era where every promising big man leaves the second he can, a hometown kid looked at the pros and chose one more year in the blue he wore as a boy. Some players leave Kentucky to become someone — Moreno already is someone here, and he decided that was worth staying for.