Pope’s response to Quaintance questions

CatBearPig

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I don’t like how at first we were saying we hope he’s back by the start of the season and now we’re already “sometime in January.”
 
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AllBall

All-Conference
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I know the coach/program cant take this stance.. but i dont care about any player's future NBA plans. You committed to play for us, and once that player is ready, they need to be out there. Hes getting paid now, let's remember this.

When these guys weren't getting NIL.. ok, I sort of get it. But hes making millions. Have to play.
Good point. It's not like he isn't cashing those NIL checks. I hope he has a long career but that starts this season at the University of Kentucky.

I don't believe an employer can hire a knowingly injured person and immediately pay them sick leave or workers comp without them first accruing so many days/hrs.
 

BlueBlood96Cat

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Let’s say hypothetically he isn’t cleared until march madness. Would we throw him in the game that late in the season?
 

TheDude73

Heisman
Jan 7, 2006
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He's visibly limping every time I've seen him. He will not play this year and I don't blame UK for letting him sit until they 100% know he's 100%, which won't be until he's gone to the NBA next summer.
 

megablue

Heisman
Oct 2, 2012
14,281
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I am excited about Jayden Quaintance, as he is an ultra-athletic, physical big who is very young and will only get better ... NO DOUBT !!!
I know his free-throw shooting will need drastic improvement ... and I'm sure he's working very hard on that.
Having said that ... I find the comparison to Amari Williams PER 40 career stats, especially last year, to be enlightening.
I recognize that Amari was an older, seasoned player, but the comparison can still be made from an overall contribution standpoint.
Do folks here confidently expect a healthy JQ to be a much bigger contributor than Williams was last year ??
Amari was definitely frustrating at times last year, but overall, he had a pretty solid season, I thought.

For additional comparison ... here is Brandon Garrison to compare his PER 40 statistics:
 
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theBlues

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I believe folks are reading too much into these comments by Pope. It appears that JQ's recovery is going as well as it could possibly go.

Did anybody expect Pope to say something like "We're paying this guy big money so he needs to get off his *** and play even if it's on one leg."?
 
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Eagles_Ball_69

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He’s out there dunking in practice.
He's 6'10". He can limp and dunk. Totally possible. He's probably cleared to do quite a bit of movement, just not live and with the potential for contact. It's doesn't take a whole lot of effort for a dude his size to dunk. And at this point I'm pretty sure he'd be cleared to jump of one or two and land on one or two. The big stress test for jumping is obviously jumping off the repaired side and landing on the repaired side, but again I'd be shocked if he's not already doing that in therapy.
 

*Fox2Monk*

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He's 6'10". He can limp and dunk. Totally possible. He's probably cleared to do quite a bit of movement, just not live and with the potential for contact. It's doesn't take a whole lot of effort for a dude his size to dunk. And at this point I'm pretty sure he'd be cleared to jump of one or two and land on one or two. The big stress test for jumping is obviously jumping off the repaired side and landing on the repaired side, but again I'd be shocked if he's not already doing that in therapy.
He is. I watched him do some recovery workouts with bands and jumping on boxes and stuff. He looks really good and on track to play.
 
May 27, 2007
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I know the coach/program cant take this stance.. but i dont care about any player's future NBA plans. You committed to play for us, and once that player is ready, they need to be out there. Hes getting paid now, let's remember this.

When these guys weren't getting NIL.. ok, I sort of get it. But hes making millions. Have to play.

Yeah I agree. Soon as NIL came about, the game changed here. We didn't pay you millions (or however much he got) for you to sit on the bench.
 
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LineSkiCat14

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Yeah I agree. Soon as NIL came about, the game changed here. We didn't pay you millions (or however much he got) for you to sit on the bench.

Yeah that last part, I really hope that's being articulated for ALL sports programs. That was the thing I wanted with NIL. Ok, so we're going to pay an 18-year old millions? Well then that's a contract, and you have contractual obligations (if the universities are smart enough).
 

TreyzAllDay

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Nov 12, 2019
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Wait…I thought he’d be back playing in 6 months? It’ll be a blessing if he’s ready to see game action by Jan 1. It’ll be a bigger blessing if 45 days later he’s fully healthy and playing more than 20 mins/game. I root for the kid in part because I want him healthy for his career, but also in large part because I have zero confidence in Brandon Garrison. Lowe is probably the biggest key, but if they’re going to be GREAT(and not just good), it’s 100% because JQ is healthy in crunch time.
I agree with this ⬆️ 100%. Brandon Garrison is just not a good basketball player if we’re being honest. At least not at the level he needs to be to be getting time on the court at UK.
Wait…I thought he’d be back playing in 6 months? It’ll be a blessing if he’s ready to see game action by Jan 1. It’ll be a bigger blessing if 45 days later he’s fully healthy and playing more than 20 mins/game. I root for the kid in part because I want him healthy for his career, but also in large part because I have zero confidence in Brandon Garrison. Lowe is probably the biggest key, but if they’re going to be GREAT(and not just good), it’s 100% because JQ is healthy in crunch time.
agree with this ⬆️ 100%! Brandon Garrison is a likeable guy and I’ll def pull for him but he’s not a UK caliber player. Never was or will be.
 
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Eagles_Ball_69

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He is. I watched him do some recovery workouts with bands and jumping on boxes and stuff. He looks really good and on track to play.
I think he'll play, eventually. But I'd be shocked if it were before Jan 1. Equally, I'd be pretty surprised if he didn't get on the court SOMETIME in Jan.

Btw...I feel like I NEED him to be back sooner rather than later. My ticker isn't going to be able to take much of BG in playmaker mode. I already got nervous ticks watching the B/W game.
 

*Fox2Monk*

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I agree with this ⬆️ 100%. Brandon Garrison is just not a good basketball player if we’re being honest. At least not at the level he needs to be to be getting time on the court at UK.

agree with this ⬆️ 100%! Brandon Garrison is a likeable guy and I’ll def pull for him but he’s not a UK caliber player. Never was or will be.
Garrison is a fine player. I don’t know why you all think he’s bad. He was an AA and he played well last year. Looks solid so far. He’s not the best big in the nation, but he will be a very good starter and backup when JQ gets back.
 
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Vek96

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Like some have said, when he’s medically cleared, his *** plays, or the NIL money goes away.

It’s not any more complicated than this.
 
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theBlues

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I don’t like how at first we were saying we hope he’s back by the start of the season and now we’re already “sometime in January.”
No offense intended, but the "we" is just some guessers on this thread. I still say he is playing no later than the first of December(also a guess). In what way could his recovery possibly be going any better?
 
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Eagles_Ball_69

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Garrison is a fine player. I don’t know why you all think he’s bad. He was an AA and he played well last year. Looks solid so far. He’s not the best big in the nation but he will be a very good starter and backup when JQ gets back.
HS AA's don't mean much of anything when you're a junior in college and haven't really done anything in your college career. Garrison was iffy at times with the role he played last season. I'm not sure he really showed anything to make anyone think he could make a jump in role and production. The team was considerably worse with BG on the floor and AW on the bench. That's concerning. His immaturity (on the court) is probably his biggest hurdle. I hope it works out, but I have my concerns.
 
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megablue

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HS AA's don't mean much of anything when you're a junior in college and haven't really done anything in your college career. Garrison was iffy at times with the role he played last season. I'm not sure he really showed anything to make anyone think he could make a jump in role and production. The team was considerably worse with BG on the floor and AW on the bench. That's concerning. His immaturity (on the court) is probably his biggest hurdle. I hope it works out, but I have my concerns.
I’m not convinced that BG can’t be an adequate center, but I definitely agree with you … we were a much better team with AW on the floor last year. It is certainly my hope that a healthy JQ will be more productive than AW was, but I’m not convinced of it.
 

Eagles_Ball_69

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I’m not convinced that BG can’t be an adequate center, but I definitely agree with you … we were a much better team with AW on the floor last year. It is certainly my hope that a healthy JQ will be more productive than AW was, but I’m not convinced of it.
Kind of where I'm at. I think BG has the measurables. Not sure the skills or intangibles are there. I'm certain a healthy JQ would be more productive than AW was, especially defensively. I'm just not entirely certain JQ will be 100% (think health and ready to play) for much if any of the season. I'm pretty cautiously optimistic about the position as a whole.
 
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megablue

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Kind of where I'm at. I think BG has the measurables. Not sure the skills or intangibles are there. I'm certain a healthy JQ would be more productive than AW was, especially defensively. I'm just not entirely certain JQ will be 100% (think health and ready to play) for much if any of the season. I'm pretty cautiously optimistic about the position as a whole.
I hope you’re right about JQ, but he does not appear to be a more productive rebounder or scorer than AW in the past.
Of course, being so young, you simply HAVE to assume he will greatly improve, if he can get 100% healthy. We certainly need him to … no question, to be an elite team.
 
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UKBB4Ever

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Yeah that last part, I really hope that's being articulated for ALL sports programs. That was the thing I wanted with NIL. Ok, so we're going to pay an 18-year old millions? Well then that's a contract, and you have contractual obligations (if the universities are smart enough).
Except it’s not that.

its not pay to play

It’s pay to use the name, image or likeness.
 

LineSkiCat14

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Except it’s not that.

its not pay to play

It’s pay to use the name, image or likeness.

But let's be real.. the deals are being brokered with the local businesses who support, and are in bed with, the school and basketball program.

If the Utah Jazz owner is gonna buy AJ dybantsa or a Texas oil company paid for Archie Manning, they very well can begin to make demands on their end. These players certainly won't be able to just take the money and sit (or the first time it happens, it will be fixed rather quickly).
 

LineSkiCat14

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The people and businesses who pay for these players are going to want results and commitment. Whether its fans funding a NIL fund or a Porsche dealer. Its that simple. Might take a few years, but there will eventually be contractual obligations once we get a few more Shaedon Sharpe situations..
 
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KYSouthpaw

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Sep 10, 2025
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Limb Symmetry Index (<10% difference)
Strength to Body Wt Ratio (60-65% @180 deg/sec or 100% @ 60 deg/sec)
Time (~9 months)

These are all supported in the research for making RTP decisions. Pope seems pretty data-oriented, so I'm guessing he will allow these things to align before he returns JQ to live action.
 

rivercatinfl

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He's visibly limping every time I've seen him. He will not play this year and I don't blame UK for letting him sit until they 100% know he's 100%, which won't be until he's gone to the NBA next summer.
This the way I see it to unfortunately.
 

megablue

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