In his first formal interview as a Wildcat, sophomore forward Jayden Quaintance spent nearly half an hour taking questions during a break in his summer rehabilitation and team activities on campus. Quaintance and teammate Kam Williams, another newbie, tag-teamed the Q&A session on Tuesday. You can see those conversations here and here.
During the discussion with Quantaince, the two-time UK commit revealed the Wildcats of yesterday that he enjoyed watching in Lexington, or still enjoys watching today in the NBA. He named Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis — two of the school’s best one-and-done players and present-day NBA superstars, who happen to play his position.
Quaintance admires Towns’ versatility as a big man, he said first, but he models his game more after Davis.
“I feel like he plays in a way that’s pretty similar to me–you know, really good defensively, plays with that level of physicality and intensity. I feel like I try to model after that, and then he’s also to be able to be a force on the offensive side of the ball as well.”
Quaintance also leans on a third former UK big man for advice: his head coach, Mark Pope. Quaintance enjoys playing for a leader he sees eye-to-eye with, who has already worn the uniform in Lexington.
“It’s very different, but I’ve been enjoying it,” Quaintance said of his first weeks with Pope. “He’s been able to, you know, give me pointers, give me tips. He’s been there and done that, so, you know, that is always good knowledge, and he knows so much about the game, it’s been really interesting to pick his brain and talk to him about what he feels that I need to work on and how I can improve my game.”
More Kentucky alums to lean on
Soon, Quaintance and his Kentucky teammates will meet, and maybe even scrimmage, the team of Kentucky alums in The Basketball Tournament. Last year, the former players on La Familia spent a lot of time around Pope’s first Kentucky roster, which bridged the gap between coaching eras. Aaron Harrison even admitted to following his alma mater more closely last season than ever before due to the relationships he built with Pope and the team through TBT.
Quaintance, who is only 17 years old, is looking forward to La Familia and TBT in Memorial Coliseum next week and meeting more players who came through Kentucky before him.
“If I get the chance, definitely just kind of get in their ear, pick their brain, see what tips they have, having been to where I’m trying to go.”
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