Kentucky F Jayden Quaintance reportedly near debut for Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats are hopeful that they’ll soon see the debut of forward Jayden Quaintance.

Quaintance, a sophomore forward from Cleveland, Ohio, is a very intriguing player for Kentucky. He transferred this past offseason to Mark Pope’s team after spending his freshman season at Arizona State.

Unfortunately for him, he suffered a torn ACL in February while playing for the Sun Devils, so he transferred to Kentucky with the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to play at the start of the season.

It does sound like his rehab has gone well, though. In fact, Pope recently relayed that Quaintance has been practicing with the team and making great progress.

“He had a good practice on Tuesday. First time ever he crossed half court in some drill work, so that was good. We’ll see how he is today and he’s making incredible progress,” Pope said on Thursday, according to Grant Grubbs of On3. “It’s kind of a day-by-day thing. Once he’s confident and ready and healthy, we’ll roll.

Jayden Quaintance has a ton of potential for the Kentucky Wildcats

As a freshman at ASU, Quaintance started 24 games and averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. He shot 52.5% from the field, but just 18.8% from the three-point line.

He’s not on the floor to be a sharpshooter, though. He checks in at 6-foot-10, 255 pounds and set freshman records for total blocked shots (63) and rebounds per game (7.9) last season for Arizona State.

Quaintance posted six double-doubles as a freshman, so he can also score alongside being an inside presence, and he’s a former McDonald’s All-American.

This is a kid with a ton of potential, so Kentucky has to be thrilled that he’ll be making his way back onto the court soon. Per Pope, he’s mentally prepared to play. Now the Wildcats just have to make sure he’s physically there as well.

“He’s done an unbelievable job in his rehab and he’s kept up with everything, in terms of having an off-the-court concept of what we’re trying to do,” Pope said. “So, everyday is going to paint a clearer picture for us.”