UK basketball is on a roll with 2024 recruiting. Is Jayden Quaintance the next future Cat?
After a slow start, Kentucky men’s basketball has quickly heated up in the race to secure top college basketball prospects in the 2024 recruiting class.
The Wildcats missed on several top recruits to begin the 2024 cycle, including shooting guard Ian Jackson (North Carolina).
The commitment of center Somto Cyril in late June gave Kentucky a foothold to begin its 2024 recruiting efforts. Now, a sturdy foundation has been built following the recent commitment of five-star guard Boogie Fland.
Suddenly, UK finds itself with the potential to repeat the remarkable 2023 recruiting haul that just arrived in Lexington.
In the 2024 recruiting class, Kentucky finds itself among the top three schools for five-star center Patrick Ngongba II, and the top four schools and professional pathways for each of wing Billy Richmond and small forward Karter Knox.
And another big man who is expected to soon enter decision mode is taking a close look at the Wildcats.
Jayden Quaintance — a consensus five-star center who measured 6-foot-10 during a USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp in Colorado this month — is visiting UK this weekend.
Quaintance, who is ranked by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index as the No. 7 overall player in the 2024 class, is one of the most coveted big men in college basketball recruiting at the moment.
He was originally supposed to visit Kentucky last weekend, but that visit was shifted to this weekend.
This gives Quaintance an opportunity to watch the Wildcats in action inside Rupp Arena in their first exhibition game of the season Friday night against Georgetown College. It also lines up for Quaintance to experience a marquee UK football home game against Tennessee.
“I feel like I’ve kept my list very small, compared to a lot of other people,” Quaintance told the Herald-Leader at that USA Basketball camp.
“Not too many people are contacting me directly, my dad (Haminn, who played collegiately at Jacksonville and Kent State) helps with that and sorts that stuff out.”
Originally from Ohio, Quaintance plays prep basketball at Word of God Christian Academy, which is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s the same school that produced former UK one-and-done star John Wall.
But one of the biggest appeals with Quaintance, from a college basketball recruiting perspective, is the fact he can’t be a one-and-done player.
The 16-year-old Quaintance reclassified from the 2025 to the 2024 recruiting group over the summer. Because of his young age, Quaintance won’t be eligible for the NBA Draft until the 2026 edition.
This means Quaintance will be a two-year player at either the college level, or with a professional setup, before he can become NBA Draft eligible.
Quaintance has taken visits to the NBA’s G-League Ignite, Ohio State, Missouri and Florida.
UK extended a scholarship offer to Quaintance in late June, while he was on an unofficial visit to Lexington.
“They’ve done it before. They have so many top players, top bigs,” Quaintance said of UK.
This weekend will mark his official visit to Lexington, and is expected to be the final official visit Quaintance takes.
What’s he hoping to learn?
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the playing style, and how I fit into that,” Quaintance said.
Quaintance told the Herald-Leader he doesn’t have a timetable to make his college decision, and he doesn’t want to rush the choice.
His statistics from last season speak for themselves, though, when it comes to why so many schools covet him.
He averaged more than 17 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game for Word of God, as the school played as part of the Overtime Elite league.
Earlier this year, Quaintance was part of the USA Basketball team that romped to victory at the FIBA Men’s Under-16 Americas Championship.
He also had a standout grassroots season that came with a late twist: Quaintance played for Team Thad on the Nike EYBL circuit, and was teammates with fellow Kentucky recruit and former Woodford County High School star Jasper Johnson.
Quaintance switched this summer to Team Loaded on the Adidas 3SSB circuit.
“Right now, I’ve got to work on my perimeter game a lot. Showing what I can do on the perimeter, being more assertive outside,” Quaintance said. “My shot consistency (too). It’s been coming along a little bit more. ... Keep refining it, keep getting better and better with that. ... My handle, I’ve got to refocus on my handle, (have) more control.”
V.J. Edgecombe also to visit UK this weekend
Quaintance won’t be the only top college basketball prospect in Lexington this weekend.
According to Travis Branham of 247Sports, shooting guard V.J. Edgecombe will also be taking an official visit to UK this weekend.
Edgecombe is a five-star recruit who is ranked by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index as the No. 6 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.
Another UK men’s basketball recruit from New York, Edgecombe received a scholarship offer from Kentucky in September.
This came after Edgecombe released a list of his top 10 schools and professional pathways in late July. That list included Florida, Baylor, Duke, Alabama, St. John’s, Miami (Fla.), Florida State, UConn, Michigan and the NBA’s G-League Ignite.
Edgecombe reportedly canceled a scheduled visit to Michigan, and has already visited Baylor, Duke and Florida this fall. He’s set to visit Alabama and Florida State next month.
But it’s clear that despite the late arrival with a scholarship offer, Kentucky has made up significant recruiting ground with Edgecombe, enough to host him on campus for a visit alongside another five-star recruit and headlined by a UK men’s basketball game at Rupp Arena and a marquee UK football game at Kroger Field.
