By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Jayden Quaintance is looking ahead and focused on the future as he recovers from knee surgery.
The Kentucky transfer, who signed with the Wildcats but chose to begin his collegiate career at Arizona State after former Kentucky coach John Calipari left for Arkansas last spring, had surgery on his ACL after suffering the injury in a game against Kansas State on Feb. 23.
Quaintance had surgery on the knee on March 19 and has been on the road to recovery.
“I’ve been feeling great,” Quaintance said. “I’ve been progressing pretty well. I’ve just been trusting the trainers and the coaches to try and get me right. Mentally, I’ve been focusing on the next step and just kind of focusing on the moment. Every day, it’s feeling better.”
There is no timetable for his return, but Quaintance said the Wildcats are being patient as he recovers from the first injury of his playing career.
“They are invested in my future and what I can do to help here, so they’re not rushing me back,” he said. … “Mentally, the way I’ve always been, I try not to dwell on things. I try to look to the future and how I can improve, how I can be better. I never really was too sad. It was always, alright, what’s the next move? How do I get better?”
Although currently unable to practice, Quaintance is watching and learning behind the scenes.
“I haven’t been able to do all the reps that everyone else is doing, obviously, but I’ve been watching, observing, taking notes, learning the plays, learning the actions, and getting adapted to the play style and adapted to the way the coaches think,” he said. “I feel like that’s going to prepare me well for when I do get to 100 percent, and I’m able to get out on the floor.”
Once Quaintance is fully healthy, Kentucky coach Mark Pope is anxious to see what he can do.
“Jayden is a 17-year-old phenom who is as explosive as he is skilled, and he is just scratching the surface of what he’s going to become in this game,” Pope said. “He’s an incredibly bright kid who is already postering anyone in Big Blue Nation in a game of chess, and he and his family couldn’t be more excited to finally get to wear the Blue and White.”
Quaintance is also looking forward to restarting to his college career, this time at the place where he first committed.
“There’s a large emphasis on spacing and cutting and getting to the rim, so I feel like I’m going to have a lot of opportunities to show off my passing game, for sure,” he said. “… I feel like I’m going to be able to show off a little more of my shooting and passing this year.”
Quaintance is excited about playing for Pope and added the Kentucky coach has “been there and done that” when it comes to playing for the Wildcats.
“You know that it’s always good knowledge,” Quaintance said. “He knows so much about the game, it’s been really interesting to pick his brain and talk to him about what he feels I need to work on and how I can improve my game. He’s very passionate when he talks about basketball. It’s been cool to lean on that and see through his eyes what he sees in me.”