Jayden Quaintance is expected to make Kentucky debut vs. St. John's

Exactly nine months to the day following surgery to repair a torn ACL, the decision was made Friday for Jayden Quaintance to make his Kentucky debut vs. Rick Pitino and St. John’s on Saturday — assuming all goes well leading up to tipoff — sources tell KSR.

Mark Pope did not rule out Quaintance against the Johnnies when previewing the matchup on Thursday.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” he said. “It’s like — he’s been out of basketball for nine months and crossed half-court for the first time in a drill two days ago. So, we’ll see. It literally is — he’s done an unbelievable job on 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.

“Every day is probably going to paint a clearer picture for us.”

Following one final evaluation before leaving for Atlanta to take on the Red Storm, it was determined that Quaintance is ready to suit up in live game action for the first time since February. It was important for Pope to separate the former Arizona State standout from the emotions of taking on Pitino on the big stage in Atlanta — he wasn’t going to put him in a minute too soon, even if it’s obvious the 6’10.5″, 255-pound forward gives the Wildcats their best shot to defeat the Johnnies in the CBS Sports Classic.

No matter the opponent, this was going to be about Quaintance and Quaintance only, suiting up only when he was ready. And he’s ready.

“Not really,” Pope said of the prized portal addition’s impact against St. John’s specifically. “JQ is just — it’s hard as a coach, because the only thing that matters is this game. It’s the only thing that ever matters, this game. For someone that’s had this incredible comeback from a really massive injury, that’s got a massive future in this game, when I’m thinking about JQ, I can’t just think about this game — as much as I would like to. His future is really important. His rehab has been incredible, but it’s rehab. We’re monitoring every second of every day of what he does to see, and also read into his heart and his mind and his feel and his comfort level, mobility-wise and reaction-wise and everything to see where he fits.

“So, honestly, my evaluation of how and when and where to slide him back into this rotation has nothing to do with this St. John’s game, and everything to do with him and where he is. That’s the way it should be. That’s how we should treat all our players.”

Quaintance originally committed to Kentucky back in November 2023 under John Calipari. 25 long months later, the former five-star recruit is set to make his debut in the blue and white under Mark Pope.

It’s go time for the future lottery pick.