Quaintance Knew St. John’s Would be the Perfect Game for his Return

Jayden Quaintance, left, made an immediate defensive impact against St. John's in his UK debut. (Vicky Graff Photo)

The best news about the way Jayden Quaintance played in his Kentucky debut against St. John’s was not the 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots he had in 15 minutes of play.

Instead, the best news about Quaintance’s first game back after knee surgery midway of last season was that he felt good Sunday and Monday.

“Everything’s going well. Feel good,” Quaintance said Monday.

The 7-foot transfer from Arizona State said there was no special significance to his return against St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino, the former UK coach who won a national title in 1996 with current UK coach Mark Pope on the roster.

“We didn’t have any ranked wins, so it was gonna be an exciting first game. I’ve just always been a competitor. I felt like I have the ability to help us win at a high level,” Quaintance said. “I feel like I can make an impact on big games. I felt like St. John’s would be the perfect way to kind of introduce myself.”

While many UK fans — and media members — blasted the Cats for their unimpressive non-conference play early in the season, Quaintance never paid a lot of attention to the criticism.

“I’m not a huge media person. I don’t even run my social media like that most of the time. I never really overreacted to that. I just kind of tried to control what I can control. That’s all I really can do,” the Kentucky sophomore said.

Here is more of what Quaintance had to say during Monday’s media opportunity going into Tuesday’s night game against Bellarmine:

Question: What was it like just going up and down the court in your first game back?

Quaintance: “ Well, honestly, I felt in pretty good shape. I never really was tired. Just kind of getting back into a game mindset.  I was a little excited at points. I fouled a 3-point shooter. I don’t usually do that. Just kind of over excited, but I felt like I reined it in and was able to play solid and help us get it done,”

Question: How emotional was it when you first checked into the game at Atlanta?

Quaintance: “It was amazing. It was a neutral site game. just seeing how much of BBN popped out and showed support. It felt like a home game, like when I checked in, the whole crowd exploded. It was kind of everything you expect, everything you hope for when you go to play in front of the BBN crowd. I was super excited. It was fun.”

Question: What kind of full circle kind of moment is it for you, knowing like that was 25 months in the making since your first commitment to Kentucky to play for John Calipari and finally getting to wear Kentucky across your chest for the first time?

Quaintance: “It was a great feeling. The last time I was on the court (at Rupp Arena) and got a standing ovation was on my visit when I wasn’t playing. Just to see that come full circle, two, three years later, is a major feeling.”

Question: What do you need to work on before SEC play starts on Jan. 3 at Alabama?

Quaintance: “I felt like post defense, I did pretty good. I didn’t get sealed much. I did better with playing tougher. I feel like I could have been a little bit more aggressive offensively just going to the rim. I faded away a little bit more (shooting) than I usually do. Just being a little bit more aggressive and being more like in  an attacking mindset. I could do better with that, but otherwise I felt probably pretty solid.. I was really focused on just kind of letting the game come to me naturally, not trying to overdo it and force anything.”

Question: Coach Mark Pope said after Saturday’s game that you had been trying to play for months, so when was playing really realistic?

Quaintance: “I would like to have played against North Carolina. I’ve always been very excited to play. I’ve always felt like I was good. I really trust in the team around me. I was gonna be patient. I was gonna let them put me in the best position, trust in my dad, my agents, my people like that, who have my best interests in mind. But I was always super eager to play.  I always felt like in those big games I could be an impact player. I don’t really like sitting on the bench watching, kind of trying to be a vocal leader. That’s never been my thing. I kind of like to lead by example, but I feel like I’ve been ready to play for a long time.”

Question: What did you learn about yourself and your teammates in that time watching these games and not being able to make an impact on the floor, but kind of being a coach and mentor from the sideline?

Quaintance: “I feel like everybody has that hunger to win. I feel like getting a sense of cohesion, connection as a team. I felt like that’s what I learned about the most, learning about my teammates, not being able to be with them on the court, being with them off the court, building relationships in a different way. You don’t really have that same bond on the court, and build the connection that way. I felt like that’s probably what I learned the most.”

Question: How excited were you to see all of the pieces on the floor for the first time in a game?

Quaintnace: “Seeing everybody (playing), you could just tell the energy was different. On the bench, everybody was super excited. Everybody was loud on the court. Everybody was moving. Everybody was talking more than we were before. I felt like everybody had that buy-in and confidence knowing that everybody was here and that we really had a chance to be special. I felt everybody felt it on the team and in the arena. I felt like everybody felt it was fun.”