Jayden Quaintance's year one to two jump at Kentucky will be historic

During his true freshman season before going down with the ACL tear, Jayden Quaintance averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Now Quaintance has made the move over to Kentucky to play for Mark Pope and he is expected to be the starting center for this team.

This season in the SEC, Quaintance is going to see more physicality, but this type of basketball is where the 6'10 big man thrives.

In his second year of college hoops, Quaintance has a real shot to average a double-double for the Kentucky Wildcats while also leading the nation in blocks. That is the upside for the sophomore.

One thing that Kentucky fans need to monitor is how he moves on the floor coming back from the ACL tear. Sometimes it takes athletes some time to get back to themselves after a knee injury like this, so Quaintance needs to make sure he is 100% ready when he returns.

Quaintance has an All-SEC First Team upside, and current NBA mock drafts for the 2026 draft have him in the top five.

Kentucky fans know how elite Anthony Davis was at Kentucky, and it is not crazy to say that Quaintance could be the best defender seen in a Kentucky uniform since AD.

At Arizona State, Quaintance had a great freshman season, but he is going to have an elite sophomore season at Kentucky, leading to him being an All-American type of player.