College basketball writer predicts Kentucky to have a sophomore breakout star

Kentucky is going to have a handful of sophomores this season, and a lot of these names are getting prepped to play a significant role for Mark Pope's team.

Kam Williams, Jayden Quaintance, Collin Chandler, and Trent Noah are all getting ready for their sophomore season, and fans can expect a large role for all four of these players.

Mike Rutherford of SB Nation wrote an article about ten sophomores ready to have a breakout season in college basketball, and Quaintance was one of the names he listed.

Here is what Rutherford had to say about Quaintance, "The youngest player in college basketball last season, Quaintance put up solid numbers (9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game) for a not-so-solid Arizona State team. Because he didn’t turn 18 before July (his birthday is Friday), Quaintance was ineligible for the 2025 NBA Draft, which is the reason he’ll be suiting up for Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats as a sophomore. Quaintance’s defensive game is already elite, and if his offensive game can catch up in year two, he has the ability to be the latest Big Blue All-American. The biggest question mark surrounding the projected lottery pick is how he’ll look after recovering from the torn ACL injury that cut his freshman season short by a month."

Like Rutherford said, it will be imperative that Quaintance is able to come back healthy from this injury, but if he does, he will put up historic numbers.

Quaintance is one of the best shot blockers and rebounders in the nation. If he can average over ten points a game to go with these skills, his nightly stat sheet will be insane.

JQ will turn himself into a top ten pick this season at Kentucky.