Kentucky sees 'winner' in Jayden Quaintance as he nears debut: 'He's really good.'

It started as 5-on-0, then 1-on-1 and 2-on-2, now 3-on-3 for Jayden Quaintance. That was after his transition from walking to running and jumping to sprinting and ripping the rim off the backboard on dunks. Slowly but surely, the prized transfer from Arizona State is nearing his Kentucky debut after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL back in March. November was always wishful thinking, but December marks the realistic start of his debut window opening up as parties involved nail down a return-to-play date.

Do you use a tune-up game to ease him back in or throw him in with the sharks against one of four ranked opponents over a three-week stretch? Or do you punt on the non-conference entirely and get him ready for the start of SEC play on January 3?

The hope is sooner rather than later, obviously, but those conversations can finally begin as the rehab and recovery phases become the ramp-up process for Quaintance. And for that, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, we are thankful.

So are his teammates, who have been blown away by his work ethic to get to this point with a return finally within reach.

“I mean, he’s really — first of all, I was following his recovery. He’s really patient and really into his recovery,” Andrija Jelavic told KSR ahead of the Tennessee Tech matchup. “He’s always the first guy in the treatment room, always the first guy in the gym, and in his eyes, I can see that he wants to be out there more than anything. He’s doing a really good job recovering, and he’s very near.”

What are they seeing from him on the floor — again, Pope confirmed he’s now doing three-on-three drills just days after two-on-two live work, calling it “steady progress” — as he inches closer?

For starters, the future lottery pick is beating up on the managers and walk-ons in a demoralizing fashion. Good luck getting a shot off against him or stopping him from dunking in the post.

“As I see him training every day before us, he’s playing against managers, and he looks really good. He’s playing mostly defense because they don’t want to risk him playing some kind of contact offense, so he’s playing defense against those managers, and he looks really good,” Jelavic continued. “They really can’t score on him. He blocks the shots. He has energy.

“As much as I see, he can dunk that ball, man. He’s really good.”

It hasn’t been a ton quite yet, but how do they envision Quaintance fitting in once he is able to make his return — both live in practice, then in games? The shot-blocking sensation we all saw dominate as a 17-year-old at Arizona State just makes life easier for everyone. He’s a safety net on both ends of the floor, wearing multiple hats as a freak athlete and rim protector.

That takes plenty off their plate and allows them to take risks and play freely. He’s a confidence-booster.

“Well, I think just that he’s — more than anything, he’s just a simple player,” Jelavic told KSR. “When he sees the rim, he’s going to dunk that ball. And when he sees that ball on the defense, he’s going to block that ball. That’s something we just really need right now. We need some simple, aggressive plays right now, especially at the defensive end.” 

The offense is there for this group, but defense has been a serious issue against Michigan State and Louisville. Quaintance should clean up those struggles almost right away while also being an intimidating presence both with ability and stature.

He’s a larger-than-life, soft-spoken 18-year-old.

“I’m not even worried about the offensive end. We always do something as a team. At Kentucky, we have good offensive players, but someone who is that consistent on the defensive end — especially on the blocking edge or with pick-and-roll defense, just his presence in the paint. He’s really — I can’t even explain, but when you see him, he’s really big, not just tall or strong. 

“His presence is big. I think that will really help us on the defensive end, just on the fear aspect from the opponents.” 

Kentucky has shown some real potential, but it’ll be taken to another level once Quaintance makes his long-awaited debut.

“I think he’s going to be a really big part of this team,” Jelavic said. “… I think he’ll really help us, and I can’t wait for him to be there. That’s what he deserves because he puts so much into his therapies and his process of coming back, and he’s got a real winner mentality.”

Not yet, BBN — but soon. Very, very soon.