Kentucky
Kentucky basketball should sit Jayden Quaintance for entire season so he can get healthy
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope on new UK transfers, freshmen
From incoming freshmen to seasoned players from the portal, UK basketball coach Mark Pope breaks down each new player on his 2025 squad.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — At his best, Kentucky basketball forward Jayden Quaintance has the makings of a dominant force and a future pro career.
The operative phrase being at his best.
Quaintance is far from that now. Most players who had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in their right knee in March would not be back to full health now, either.
UK coach Mark Pope should consider what Quaintance is not and hold him out for the entire season.
“He feels like he’s on the verge of being ready to go, and we’re just hitting the brakes full time right now to make sure, because his future is going to be incredibly bright in this game,” Pope said Tuesday at SEC Tipoff media days.
Quaintance had his surgery five days before USC star JuJu Watkins suffered her own ACL injury in a game. Watkins, who is projected to be the next big star in the women’s game, announced last month that she was going to sit out the entire season.
The timing of Quaintance’s injury and surgery is what makes his status so precarious.
Modern medicine has made it so ACL injuries stopped being career-enders a long time ago. And there have been many successful examples of players with ACL injuries who returned and were productive the next season. But those examples tend to be players who weren’t injured in the same calendar year.
“I’m not sure exactly how long the wait is,” Pope said. “I don’t think there’s a chance we could keep him from playing this season. I think he’s too excited, too talented, worked too hard to get back. He’s going to be really special.”
Here’s the thing: UK doesn’t need Quaintance to have a special season and pursue the ninth national title that has been so ingrained in its roster. He’s just a piece of the puzzle with a full supporting cast.
Junior Brandon Garrison has had a promising offseason and looks to take on a larger role than last season. Pope called Malachi Moreno an “impactful freshman” who was “unbelievable on the glass” and shooting 80% from the field in practice scrimmages.
“I didn’t know that’s the guy I recruited a year ago,” Pope said.
Sophomore Andrija Jelavić, despite arriving on campus in August, can also help the Cats fill out their frontcourt in place of Quaintance.
Even if Quaintance is cleared for full contact and able to play during the Cats’ nonconference portion of their schedule, he’s probably not going to be at his best.
The more likely scenario is that Quaintance plays the will he or won’t he be available type of guessing game that summarized Shaedon Sharpe’s career at UK.
Sitting Quaintance out might risk him never suiting up for the Wildcats. He could follow the Sharpe route and choose to enter next year’s NBA draft.
That’s OK.
His knee would be closer to full strength, and he could comport himself accordingly on the court. Quaintance can’t do that now, no matter how good he looks dunking the ball, when unchallenged, or going through non-contact drills.
Most players who have suffered ACL injuries have told me in the past that it took an entire year just to feel normal and their second season back from the injury was when they were physically able to perform in the way that they used to do.
Quaintance is apparently clearing hurdles to get back ahead of schedule.
“He is racing back to health at light speed right now,” Pope said. “It is remarkable what he’s doing; we’re all kind of shaking our heads and feeling like how is this humanly possible?”
Better to marvel at his recovery while anticipating him playing next season than to end up shaking our collective heads in hindsight saying he rushed back too soon.
Sit him out this season.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.
The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.
Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.
Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.
“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”
While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.
“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.
“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”
New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.
And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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