Will be something to watch.
The Kentucky Wildcats now have to pivot as news broke on Monday night that Jaland Lowe would miss the remainder of the season. Adding to the mystique of UK Basketball and injuries, Mark Pope and his staff are hoping that the injury bug goes away as they try to get Jayden Quaintance back on the floor.
After missing the game on Saturday against Mississippi State due to some knee swelling while also sitting out in Baton Rouge Wednesday night, it remains unclear as to when we’ll see Quaintance suit up again.
It also sounds like NBA front offices are monitoring his injury situation as well.
On Tuesday, Jeremy Woo of ESPN updated his latest NBA Mock Draft for 2026, and in it has the UK big-man cracking the top-10, going to the Chicago Bulls with the 8th pick. However, it sounds like he knows front offices are going to watch him closely as the SEC play progresses.
“Quaintance sat out Kentucky’s game over the weekend with what was described by coach Mark Pope as knee swelling, a situation NBA teams will hope doesn’t turn into a prolonged absence coming off of his ACL surgery last March. Results have been uneven in his four games back, with a strong game against St. John’s his only notable showing, in which his physicality and defensive play impressed,” Woo says. “Opinions on Quaintance are more mixed than this placement might indicate, as scouts have questions about his offensive limitations as a smaller center who probably won’t space the court or warrant focused touches. But the dearth of top-end center prospects in this class and Quaintance’s strong defensive potential should keep him in the conversation for teams targeting frontcourt help.”
The Cats now have the cards stacked against them with the injury to Lowe, but if Quaintance can return to the floor at 100%, you have to think the future lottery pick can help them in the long run. Now we wait and see what his status is on the next SEC availability report.
Category: General Sports
