The Kentucky Wildcats have had a couple of key pieces banged up to start their 2025-26 campaign. They’re hopeful of getting potential lottery pick Jayden Quaintance back sooner rather than later.
Head coach
Mark Pope gave a promising update Friday on where Quaintance’s rehab is at right now, saying the sophomore center is now doing some light contact work.
“If I opened up Rupp Arena to watch JQ just dunk the ball after our practice is over, it’s insanity. You know how you know that? Because he was here for 20 minutes after practice yesterday,” Pope said after Friday’s blowout win over Loyola Maryland. “We had a pretty hard practice yesterday (Thursday), and all the guys were just sitting there egging him on. He is an impressive human being. Like, it’s impressive. So he’s making real progress.”
“He was actually in 2-on-2 live drills vs. the scout team yesterday for the first time ever,” Pope added. “And I almost had a heart attack because I thought he just snuck into the drill.”
The talented big man is antsy to get back on the court after his stellar freshman season was cut short by an ACL injury late last season at Arizona State. Quaintance will make an instant impact once he’s able to hit the court for a Kentucky team that clearly needs him.
Last season, the Ohio native averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and shot over 50% from the field. With the Wildcats having some troubles on the defensive side of the ball, Quaintance could become an elite rim protector for the Cats.
The Wildcats are sitting at 4-2 with Tennessee Tech awaiting on Wednesday evening, November 26th. The game will air on the SEC Network at 7:00 PM ET.
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