Jayden Quaintance, left, still is not ready to play but is getting closer according to coach Mark Pope. (Vicky Graff Photo)
With point guard Jaland Lowe down with a shoulder injury again, will that make Kentucky coach Mark Pope even more hesitant about determining when sophomore center Jayden Quaintance is ready to return from the knee injury he suffered last season?
Lowe first injured his shoulder in June and then dislocated his right shoulder again in mid-October in the Blue-White Game. Lowe re-injured his shoulder again in practice before the Cats played Louisville.
Quaintance has yet to play this season, and Pope has been vague about setting any specific timeline for his return. Quaintance was one of the nation’s best freshman defensive players last year and would give UK a potential dominating inside presence at both ends of the court when he’s able to return.
“I would say with JQ, I have not spent a lot of time worrying. I’m just excited when he’s ready to go, and it’s going to be fun,” Pope said. “We have so much to figure out with JQ, and he hasn’t been in any type of live action, and it will have been nine months since he’s actually done anything live and had any contact at all.
“I’m way more curious than I am worried. I’m curious about how quickly he’s going to learn us and how he’s going to fit into the deal, and what type of impact he can make, and what type of player he’s going to be. I think players, you see them on film, and you look at their numbers. You kind of spend time with them and you get references. But there’s still a growing process once they actually get into us, into Rupp (Arena), into our style of playing and learning that. I think that’s where I’m more preoccupied is just fitting the pieces together.”
After Kentucky beat Loyola (Md.), Pope confirmed to Tom Leach on the UK Radio Network postgame show that Quaintance was making “real progress” and had been in two-on-two live drills with the scout team.
“I almost had a heart attack cause (when Quaintance did that) I thought he just snuck into the drill. I was like B-Wells (trainer Brandon Wells)! But he was like, ‘Nope, he’s cleared to do it.’ So he’s making terrific, terrific progress.”
A week later, Pope said Quaintance still has a “safety protocol” when he does any drills, but had progressed to the point where he was actually doing three-on-three workouts.
6 Responses
Is this dude gonna play or be like that one from Caliparis team?
JQ needs to start playing on Tuesday, even if it is just for limited minutes. If Lowe and Dioubate are that injured, maybe they need to look at redshirting if that is an option. We have one month to get ready for SEC play. Forget about winning No. 9, let's try to win the SEC regular season and/or tourney first.
I agree that Lowe should redshirt.
I think the next couple of weeks may show if the Pope mobile is ready for Primetime in coaching and recruiting. So far it appears that he is really soft with the players, rotates too much during games, and doesn't seem to have team prepared to play at tip off. I can't let go of the success BYU has had in both recruiting and playing since he departed. Mark has great loyalty, very contagious personality, and if he can pull off a couple of recruiting Hits in next few weeks may show that he does have the Chops to be Da Man here.
Has Pope won an NCAA game during the tournament?
Of course he has. He won two last year
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