Jayden Quaintance is ready to make a college decision

It’s decision time for the nation’s No. 4 overall prospect and No. 1 center — John Calipari’s top recruiting target in 2024. Jayden Quaintance will commit ahead of the end of the early signing period, which closes Wednesday. He is set to choose between two SEC foes, Kentucky and Missouri.

Or announce that choice, rather, because a decision has been made and the five-star recruit is ready to go public with his pick.

“We just don’t want it to drag out,” Haminn Quaintance, the standout prospect’s father, told KSR. “We’ve been in communication with everybody, people who have been recruiting us, we just said to them we’re not waiting for nobody else to come along. So we know what we want to do, we’re ready to get this over with.”

Quaintance hasn’t nailed down a specific day and time to reveal his decision, but the window is clear. He’s got from essentially now through Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET to put pen to paper and sign with the school of his choosing.

The process came to a close quickly, cutting his list from four down to two over the course of four days, Florida and Ohio State left out of contention. Eyes set on college, he also announced he would no longer be considering the G League Ignite.

So how did he come up with Kentucky and Missouri as the remaining finalists?

“Playing style, coaches recruiting us, the fan base,” his father said. “Our relationships with coaches, relationships with some coaches I’ve known or know people who know them. So we’re able to validate how strongly they stand on what they say, they do what they say.”

How did the two finalists’ recruiting pitches differ? They were relatively similar, both coaching staffs believing Quaintance would be able to step in and immediately contribute to winning.

We’ll start with Kentucky.

“They believe in him. They believe in his versatility, see him as a lottery pick,” Quaintance said. “Everybody pretty much says that, but they see him as somebody who can come in and win.”

And Missouri?

“Similar things, how he would use him,” he added. “Winning there, getting him to the next level, all of that stuff.”

Quaintance is everything you look for in a modern big. Standing 6-10, 225 pounds, he’s got college-ready size and physicality, but quickness and guard skills with a growing jump shot. He can bang in the post, put the ball on the floor, find open teammates, knock down shots or dunk on your head — often all of the above. All of the raw tools are there to be a high-level college basketball player and pro.

And that’s the goal, his vision for the next level and beyond.

“Just the best basketball player. Being an NBA vet, college national champion — Jayden sees everything (for himself),” Quaintance said. “These are both programs where he felt he could do that.”

The five-star big’s father was there for the beginning of his basketball journey, in the gym every step of the way. A former all-conference standout at Kent State and longtime overseas pro in his own right, Quaintance knows what it takes to succeed in this sport. And seeing his son pour everything into his craft to get to this point is special.

“I’m very proud. He has put in a lot of work, and it ain’t always easy. It’s not always fun,” he said. “There is a lot that goes into this. Even when we first started, when I started working with him and turned it up on him. When I pushed him and turned it up on him, he turned it up.

“He was always willing to do it, always put in the work. He’s in the gym right now.”

What will the program of his choosing be getting in Jayden Quaintance? Above all else, he’s a winner who will do what it takes to not only make himself better, but also those around him.

Either way, the SEC is getting stronger this week.

“He’s going to work, going to do whatever they say. He is a really nice kid who is going to help bring some wins, a team player,” Quaintance said. “You watch him play and he just makes people around him better. Either program will love him.”

Will it be Kentucky or Missouri? We won’t have to wait long to find out.