By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
A former Kentucky recruit has decided to play for the Wildcats next season.
Jayden Quaintance, who committed to the Wildcats with the Class of 2024, entered the transfer portal after former Wildcats coach John Calipari bolted for Arkansas last spring. Following Calipari’s departure, Quaintance signed with Arizona State and played for one season under Bobby Hurley.
Following one season with the Sun Devils, Quaintance entered the transfer portal and committed to the Wildcats on Tuesday. The passion of Big Blue Nation drew Quaintance back to Kentucky.
“The fan base at Kentucky probably is the best in college basketball, period,” he said on Kentucky Sports Radio Tuesday. “(Mark Pope) showed a lot of interest. He seemed like he genuinely thought I fit really well into their program,” Quaintance said of picking Kentucky in an appearance on KSR. “I feel like I fit well into their play style offensively and I felt like it was pretty good for me.”
Quaintance had surgery to repair a torn ACL on March 19 but is on track to be ready before the start of the season.
“When I’m able to get back on the court, they will be able to play through me a little bit more. I’ll be able to work on the perimeter a little bit more to show off my playmaking ability more than I was able to this year, playing downhill, pushing the ball off the break, and working on my versatility more,” he said.
In his first season at Arizona State, he averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 assists and made 52.5 percent of his shots from the field. He had five double-doubles and scored 15 points, had 14 rebounds and five blocks in a loss to Cincinnati.
“He’s got a motor that is as good as any I’ve ever coached,” Hurley said earlier this season. “I always prided myself when I played on being able to sustain minutes and be a guy who could play 35-40 minutes without getting tired. Jayden is far superior than I ever was in that regard or anybody I’ve coached. He just never stops … goes after the basketball (and) plays with tremendous energy and passion.”
Quaintance played for Word of God Christian Academy in the Overtime Elite League. As a junior, he averaged 15.4 points per game, 10.9 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals per contest. He also represented Team USA in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Yucatan, Mexico in 2023 and earned a gold medal.
He joins Kam Williams (Tulane), Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh) and Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama) as players who have committed with the Wildcats out of the transfer portal this week.