Kentucky coach Mark Pope hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Jayden Quaintance making his debut against St. John’s on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.
“We'll see,” Pope said Thursday. “He's been out of basketball for nine months and crossed halfcourt for the first time in a drill two days ago … he's done an unbelievable job on his rehab, and he's kept up with everything in terms of having an off-the-court concept of what we're trying to do. Every day is probably going to paint a clearer picture for us.”
The Arizona State transfer has been recovering from an ACL injury and Tuesday was the first time Quaintance “crossed half court and did some drill work.”
“That was good,” Pope said. “We'll see how he is (Thursday), and he's making incredible progress. I’s kind of a day-by-day thing. Once he's confident and healthy and cleared, we'll roll.”
Once cleared, Pope is anxious to see how Quaintance performs on the court, especially on the defensive end of the court.
“He's proven to have an incredible impact on the defensive end of the floor in terms of his mobility, his physicality and his rim protection. He's got the capability to be an elite-level transition offensive player. He takes up space offensively.
"I think he's a guy that we could live with (being) in isolation a little bit or he'd go to work. I think he's a high IQ player that's going to really pick up the feel of how we play quickly. I think he's a terrific talent and great kid and expect good things (from him).”
STILL LEARNING
Pope said the team’s 72-60 win over Indiana last Saturday proved to be a learning experience on both ends of the spectrum for his squad.
“Doing the autopsy of that game was good for our guys, because it taught us a lot about what we could be in a positive way, and a lot of what we don't want to be in some negative ways,” Pope said. “The thing I'm excited about is for us to continue to have a more belief in the specific vision we're chasing. The game is a pretty brutal task master. If you don't buy in, it's gonna hurt you, right? Until you do and if you're humble and willing enough, you will. I think we're making progress. I'm excited about it.”
Known for a three-point shooting style, Pope likes the idea of adding a mixture of “smash mouth basketball” to the team’s current recipe, especially against St. John's.
“it's gonna be really fun, ugly, gruesome and brutal and violent,” Pope said. “It's awesome. It's great. It won't be forever. It's just for now.”
Kentucky, which opened December with losses to North Carolina and Gonzaga, respectively, carries a two-game winning streak into Saturday’s game against the Red Storm.
SPECIAL PLACE
Pope considers Atlanta a “special place” because of his experiences as a player. Known as “Catlanta,” Kentucky has compiled a 35-12 mark in Atlanta, including a 26-6 mark in the Georgia Dome.
“Atlanta is a special just like Nashville,” Pope said. “Atlanta is a really special place to me and my Kentucky tenure from when I was a player here, playing in SEC tournament there and we had a great experience there last year. Catlanta is that for a reason, right? It's, it's like second home to Kentucky and it's important for us to go perform well there like it is everywhere. I love it every time we get to go play there, it's special.”
Gametracker: Kentucky vs. St. John's, 11:30 a.m.CT, Saturday. TV/Radio: CBS, UK Radio Network on 94.7 The Mix and WiLLiE 102.
Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance slams home a dunk during a practice session earlier this week. (UK Athletics Photo)
