Brandon Garrison must play well early into the season while Jayden Quaintance rehabs

One of the big offseason topics for the Kentucky basketball team is about the injury and rehab of Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance. The former Sun Devil is projected to be a top five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but he is coming off an ACL tear.

The rising sophomore had the surgery to repair his torn ACL on March 19 and is working every day to rehab and hopefully get on the floor as soon as possible.

Many project, Quaintance to be the starting center for this basketball team once he is back and, on the floor, but the player who will have a larger role while JQ gets healthy is Brandon Garrison.

Of course, Garrison was the backup center behind Amari Williams last season, so he knows the Pope system.

The hope is for Quaintance to be back on the floor by the start of the season, but some find this hard to believe.

It is realistic to think Quaintance could be back on the floor and healthy before SEC play begins in January but asking him to be back by November could be a bit much.

Kentucky is going to have a lot of marquee matchups in the non-conference slate, and they will need Garrison to step up in a big way in these games.

One of those games will be the rivalry game against Louisville, and all Kentucky fans know how much rivalries mean to Garrison. Early into the season, elite play for Garrison will be imperative while Quaintance fights back from his injury.