Jayden Quaintance: Three thoughts on Kentucky's newest commitment

John Calipari landed his fourth commitment of the 2024 class as Five-Star Plus+ center Jayden Quaintance signed with Kentucky on Tuesday. Quaintance joins four-star point guard Boogie Fland, four-star center Somto Cyril, and four-star point guard Travis Perry for this cycle.

This class comes behind the 2023 class that ranked No. 1 in the 2023 On3 Team Recruiting Rankings. That seven-man class included four McDonald’s All-Americans, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard, and Aaron Bradshaw.

Let’s discuss what this commitment means for Kentucky.

Who is Jayden Quaintance?

Jayden Quaintance is the No. 4 player in the 2024 On3 150 and the No. 2 center in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. Ultimately, Quaintance chose Kentucky over Missouri. He also took official visits to Florida and Ohio State.

Quaintance, a 6-foot-10 center at Raleigh (NC) Word of God, averaged 15.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game last season on the Overtime Elite Circuit. He played for the USA Basketball team this summer in the FIBA Americas U16 Championships. Quaintance averaged 6.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in earning the gold medal. Quaintance was born in June of 2007, meaning he will have two years after high school graduation before he is eligible for the NBA Draft.

“I feel like I do a lot well,” Quaintance told On3. “I’m trying to show my entire game. My shot fluidity has improved, repeating my form each time, and I’m shooting. I’m getting downhill well, making plays off that. I’m making plays from the elbow, making plays on the block, making plays from the wing. I’ve been watching a lot of Kyrie Irving and his jump shot, trying to emulate what he’s doing.”

What does he bring to Kentucky?

Jayden Quaintance brings a physical frame and an explosive presence to the Wildcats. Only 16 years old, the 6-foot-10 center has good length, with broad shoulders, and should be able to continue adding weight without losing burst or mobility.

Quaintance plays with a mean streak, and that is what you will see on most of his highlight reels. He has a ferocity when he is within eight feet of the basket, and attempts to dunk everything in sight. He also has natural timing as a rim protector, trying to put everything into the third row.

What is interesting about Quaintance’s game is his instincts. His natural ability to play angles, or to rotate toward the ball. He moves very well laterally and has extremely loose, and fluid hips. His dad, Hamin Quaintance, was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year while at Kent State, Jayden picks up some of those same qualities.

Offensively, his game is expanding beyond dunks. He is comfortable pushing the break in the open floor with a developing handle and he does not press the issue. He is capable of stepping into three-pointers off the bounce or knocking down catch-and-shoot jumpers in pick-and-pop scenarios. Quaintance has an understanding on the block and is powerful going over his left shoulder.

All-in-all, Quaintance is a highly productive post-player who has a huge ceiling to still grow into.

How does Quaintance fit at Kentucky?

For starters, Jayden Quaintance will be 17 years old during his freshman season at Kentucky. He is also a top-five talent in the recruiting class. Quaintance will bring positional versatility to the post, able to play the four or the five. He will join 7-foot-0 center Somto Cyril as a freshman at Kentucky, someone he is able to play beside.

Kentucky’s roster will graduate Tre Mitchell, but they also have three centers who are either freshmen or sophomores. All three of them are injured right now as well. Speaking on the general feel of the roster, it will be interesting to see which of Ugonna Onyenso, Aaron Bradshaw, and Zvonimir Ivisic return next season. However, all three are players that Quaintance can play beside.

The potential depth of Kentucky’s front line next season could be quite impressive.

Quaintance talks Kentucky

“They have had a lot of success with previous draft picks. They’ve had guard success, but they’ve had good success with bigs, a lot more than other colleges. Coach (John) Calipari has been showing a lot of love, and Coach Chin (Coleman), too. Coach Cal has already come to Word of God twice to see me. We’ve been able to build a good relationship.”