It was a scene that had played out a million times, but on that day in June 2025, it felt different.

Malachi Marino had just moved into his new home at the University of Kentucky, only 20 minutes from his old home in Georgetown.

The seven-foot freshman and his older brother Michael celebrated the only way they know how basketball with her mother Sarah

watching Malachi and Michael laced it up and held a three-point contest on the practice

court at the Joe Craft Center that was really cool to watch just to see the dynamic from when

Malachi was always following Michael and then now Michael has since graduated college and now Malachi's coming through college and it's like just to watch them together and how much they love each other and they're super competitive and you could ask either one of them and either one of them would tell you who's going to win and it would be a different answer every day. The predictions may change, but so far, the result has always been the same.

I'm going to keep it brutally honest. I have yet to win.

He still can't beat me, but he's close. He's very, very close.

Michael won that day. Not entirely surprised, considering he's the best three-point shooter

in eastern Kentucky

University history. However, the chase continues, which Michael is counting on as Malachi's star continues

to rise. After leading Great Crossing to its first state title, Malachi came to Kentucky thinking

he'd be a role player in his freshman season season just to earn a starting job six games in.

He steadily improved throughout the year and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team,

one of the most promising rookies in the league. There is more work to be done in Lexington,

but the NBA isn't too far off on the horizon. That's quite a journey for a kid from Georgetown, one that is only

possible because of the person whose shadow he used to walk in and the sacrifices he made along the way.

Because his legacy is what built me. So anytime somebody brings it up, I say there's no me without him.

If you saw Michael Marino as a kid, there was a good chance you saw Malachi too.

Even though the brothers are six years apart and age, Malachi was constantly by Michael's side,

sometimes to Michael's chagrin.

Malachi had to be everywhere Michael was.

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