Jayden Quaintance is not yet cleared to play college basketball at Kentucky. His father blatantly lied about the extent of his son’s ACL injury before he entered the transfer portal.
A timeline for return has yet to be announced.
Mark Pope announced the disappointing status of the projected top-five NBA Draft pick on Tuesday, with less than two months until the start of the college basketball season. The Wildcats will hope to get him on the court as soon as possible but there is no telling how long that could take.
Jayden Quaintance tore his ACL and hit the transfer portal.
Quaintance ranked as a top-10 player in the recruiting Class of 2024 as a five-star prospect. He ultimately committed to play at Arizona State over Louisville, Ohio State, Florida, Kentucky and 16 others.
The 6-foot-9, 225-pound center averaged 9.4 points on 52.5% shooting, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 29.7 minutes per game during his freshman season with the Sun Devils.
However, Quaintance injured his knee in a game against Kansas State on Feb. 23. He was required to have surgery to repair a torn ACL on March 19.
The rising sophomore entered the transfer portal just a few days after his successful operation and eventually chose Kentucky over Auburn.
His dad lied about his injury.
It usually takes six to nine months to return from a torn ACL.
- 0-2 weeks: Limited mobility
- 2-6 weeks: Gradual increase in activity that leads to light weight-bearing exercise
- 3-4 months: Return to daily activities like walking and stairs
- 6-0 months: Resume sports training
- 12-15 months: Full recovery to pre-injury level of activity
This timeline obviously varies from person to person. It also hinges on the extent of the injury.
Rarely, if ever, does the full recovery process take less than 10 months. For example — Cameron Brink tore her ACL in June 2024 and only recently returned to action after 13 months.
Jayden Quaintance tore his ACL at the end of February. Best case scenario, using a 10-month timeline, he could be back on the court by the end of December.
And yet, his dad said at the beginning of April that his son was “projected to be cleared for contact in September.” That would’ve put him in line to return to action before the start of the 2025-26 college basketball season in November.
“He’s already ahead of schedule,” Haminn Quaintance told ESPN. That was a bold-faced lie right before Jayden hit the transfer portal.
It is now the second week of September and Kentucky head coach Mark Pope says Jayden Quaintance has not even been cleared for non-contact work.
But his dad said he would be cleared for contact!
Big Blue Nation stood by Haminn’s timeline throughout the entire summer. They were woefully ignorant.
History shows us that Jayden Quaintance was never going to be ready to play by September.
Kentucky’s newest college basketball transfer gained weight.
Even though Quaintance may not be able to get on the floor until 2026, if at all, he apparently hit the gym hard upon arrival to Lexington.
Arizona State listed him at 6-foot-9, 225 pounds. Kentucky lists him at 6-foot-10.5, 255 pounds.
This could mean a few different things:
- The Wildcats inflate the numbers on their roster.
- He added 30 pounds of muscle while rehabbing his ACL.
- He added 30 pounds of fat during his required sedentation.
I think it is probably a combination of the three but there is definitely some shenanigans afoot.
Just for example, Jaland Lowe measured 6-foot-0 at the NBA Combine. Kentucky lists him at 6-foot-3.
Maybe Jayden Quaintance actually put on 30 pounds and gained an inch and a half. Maybe not.
Either way, the Wildcats will be without him when they begin the new college basketball season on Nov. 4.