Positive mental approach helping Jayden Quaintance in rehab

Jayden Quaintance‘s approach to dealing with the first significant injury of his basketball career has belied his age.

Kentucky’s new transfer center was brimming with equal parts patience and positivity on Tuesday when he met with the local media to discuss joining the Wildcats and how his rehabilitation is progressing since having surgery to repair the ACL in his right knee this spring.

“I’ve been feeling great,” said Quaintance, who was the youngest player in college basketball last season when he arrived at Arizona State as a 16-year-old freshman. “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 kinda focusing on the moment.

“Every day, it’s feeling better.”

Quaintance suffered the injury on Feb. 23 in a game against Kansas State. While going up for a dunk attempt, he was bumped from behind by a defender and felt his knee buckle.

Initially, he did not think it was serious and even tried to talk his way back into the game. Scans, however, revealed an ACL tear, and he had surgery in Phoenix on March 19.

There is no timetable for his return to full basketball activities with the Cats, although his father told ESPN this spring that doctors anticipated his son being ready to get back on the court in September.

Thinking long-term

Fortunately for Kentucky, Mark Pope has constructed a deep and talented roster that won’t require Quaintance to feel like he has to return to action before he is ready.

“They are really invested in my future and what I can do to help here, so they’re not rushing me back,” he said.

That’s the physical side of rehab.

He appears to be even further along on the mental side.

“Mentally, the way I’ve always been, I try not to dwell on things,” Quaintance said. “I try to look to the future and how I can improve, how I can be better.

“I never really was too sad (about the injury). It was always, alright, what’s the next move? How do I get better? What do I need to focus on to be the best version of myself and to come back stronger than I was before?”

Quaintance, an aspiring chess player, is taking mental notes at practice while he is unable to participate on the floor. He spends a lot of time watching veteran big man Brandon Garrison, who will likely be the Cats’ starter when the season opens.

“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 the way the coaches think,” he said. “I feel like that’s going to prepare me well for when I do get to 100% and I’m able to get out on the floor.”

Young phenom in deep big-man rotation

Pope cannot wait to see it. Despite Quaintance’s tender age — he won’t turn 18 until later this week –many NBA Draft observers project him as a lottery pick next year.

“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.”

When Quaintance joins the Cats on the practice floor, he’ll join one of the most talented big-man rotations in the nation, including junior Brandon Garrison and freshman Malachi Moreno.

Last year at Arizona State, the former McDonald’s All-American and one-time UK verbal commitment to John Calipari averaged 9.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocked shots per game. He was the only player in the country to have a combined 90 blocks and steals in less than 25 games and was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team and the All-Big 12 Defensive Team.

Quaintance is eager to expand his game at UK, having watched how Amari Williams developed last season after transferring from Drexel and was drafted by the Boston Celtics.

“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.”

Right coach as mentor

Playing for a former versatile big man in Pope — a head coach who can almost stand eye to eye with him — is something that also helped Quaintance come around to UK a second time.

“(Pope has) been there and done that, so 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 kinda lean on that and see through his eyes what he sees in me.”