What will elite center Jayden Quaintance bring to Kentucky after committing to the Wildcats?

Jayden Quaintance will be a Kentucky Wildcat.

The elite class of 2024 college basketball prospect pledged to join head coach John Calipari and UK on Tuesday.

Quaintance is the fourth player in next year’s recruiting class to commit to the Wildcats, along with guards Boogie Fland and Travis Perry and center Somto Cyril.

All four players have also signed with UK.

Fland will bring a dynamic backcourt presence to Lexington. Perry will provide a prolific scoring ability as the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history. Cyril is a strong frontcourt player with an evolving offensive game.

And for his part, Quaintance will bring his own distinct skill set to Lexington.

A 6-foot-10 big man who has starred in the past in settings such as the Nike EYBL grassroots circuit and the FIBA Americas Championship with the United States, Quaintance is very much in the upper crust of 2024 recruits.

According to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index (RSCI) — which combines the rankings from the nation’s top recruiting services into one single metric — Quaintance is ranked as the No. 7 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.

His father, Haminn, scored more than 1,300 points in a college career that included stops at Jacksonville and Kent State, and it’s clear that some of that scoring talent has translated to the younger Quaintance.

When the Herald-Leader watched Quaintance play in October at a USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp in Colorado, he was able to score in a variety of ways: Rim-running, jump shots and as an offensive initiator.

On defense, Quaintance’s athleticism allowed him to make up for any shortcomings when it comes to diagnosing plays in live time, something that should only improve with age.

“Just being at more events, showing my face more, making an impact in different places, showing more of what I’m capable of doing,” Quaintance said at that USA Basketball camp when asked by the Herald-Leader why he thought his recruitment had taken off this year.

The 16-year-old Quaintance reclassified from the 2025 to the 2024 recruiting group over the summer and because of his young age he won’t be eligible for the NBA Draft until the 2026 edition. This means Quaintance appears to be a two-year pickup, at least, for the Wildcats.

Quaintance told the Herald-Leader that still being two-plus years away from a pro basketball career didn’t alter his recruitment.

“It doesn’t change anything at all,” he said. “If I stayed in the same class, I’d still have the same amount of time, so just focus on developing and being ready when it is time to make that leap to the NBA.”

Quaintance gives Kentucky an elite big man for multiple years

When Quaintance arrives at Kentucky next year, he will bring a skilled big man that reflects the playing style of modern basketball.

He’s comfortable with the ball in his hands, can score from a variety of spots on the floor and possesses a distinct athletic ability that allows him to be a forceful presence at both ends of the court.

“Now it’s more of a guard-dominated game. So either you conform and be like a wing player, or you kind of play in the post or screen-and-roll, you’re just looking for opportunity off the help,” Quaintance said when discussing the role of big men like himself in basketball. “Spacing the floor more, helping the guard get more open looks, and if you’re open (and) you feel like you can help convert (against) the defense, you’ll get your looks there too.”

How comfortable does Quaintance feel in this role as a versatile big man?

“Very comfortable,” he said with confidence. “I’ve been doing it my whole life, but right now I’m trying to develop my perimeter game, showing that I can be more impactful outside of the post.”

Quaintance is part of a position group for Kentucky that could undergo significant change this offseason.

UK’s 2023-24 roster features the following frontcourt players: Freshmen Aaron Bradshaw, Jordan Burks and Zvonimir Ivisic, sophomore Ugonna Onyenso and fifth-year Tre Mitchell.

Bradshaw and Onyenso have both been projected as NBA draft selections next year, although neither player has appeared in a game for UK this season due to foot injuries.

The 6-foot-8 Burks is listed as a guard, but has had to deputize as a frontcourt player for UK this season due to the availability issues among frontcourt players.

Ivisic, who also hasn’t played yet this season because he’s yet to be cleared by the NCAA, has entered and withdrawn from the last two NBA drafts. Ivisic will be unable to withdraw the next time he enters for draft consideration.

Mitchell will run out of college eligibility following the 2023-24 season.

Simply put, the UK frontcourt is a position group in flux at the moment, and that moment is likely to last all the way through the offseason.

Given this, Quaintance figures to provide skill and stability next season to an area where the Wildcats will need both.

Quaintance’s presence on the next few Kentucky teams should also help the development of Cyril, his fellow 2024 commit.

While Cyril possesses functional strength and strong defensive instincts, his offensive game is still a work in progress. Realistic expectations will be easier to come by for Cyril with Quaintance also in the fold.

“He’s so strong and so big, blocking shots and rebounding. He’s kind of like a unicorn that way,” Calipari said of Cyril on Monday.

It should also offer some level of comfort to Kentucky fans that Quaintance told the Herald-Leader he was keen on making the right decision in his college recruitment so he doesn’t end up in the NCAA transfer portal.

UK basketball poised to land another elite recruiting class

Kentucky’s four-player recruiting class for 2024 covers two specific position groups: Centers and guards.

Cyril and Quaintance are both 6-foot-10 big men. Cyril is more of a traditional big than Quaintance, but both are capable of providing the rim protection that Calipari craves.

Fland is a guard that can drive and apply pressure at the rim to open up the offense. Perry is a lights-out shooter who stands to benefit from a free-flowing, motion offense.

Kentucky now has the second-best team recruiting class for 2024, according to 247Sports. Only Duke’s class — which features five commits, including generational talent Cooper Flagg — ranks above UK’s.

And now Kentucky finds itself in a great spot to round out this recruiting class with more additions at the “three” or “four” spots.

Wing Billy Richmond — whose father played for Calipari at Memphis — has UK as one of his final four schools still under consideration. Richmond, who plays prep basketball at Camden (New Jersey) High School, which is the same school that produced current UK players Aaron Bradshaw and D.J. Wagner, has a final list of Alabama, Memphis, LSU and Kentucky.

Several recruiting insiders have projected Richmond to become a Wildcat.

Small forward Karter Knox also has Kentucky in his final four options when it comes to his post-high school playing career. A younger brother of Kevin Knox, the former one-and-done star at UK and the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Knox is still considering Kentucky, Louisville, South Florida and the NBA’s G-League Ignite.

Knox is teammates with Cyril in the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite league this season.

And shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe is the recipient of a late recruiting push from the Wildcats. He visited Kentucky in late October along with Quaintance.

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