As Mark Pope’s 2024-25 Kentucky basketball roster takes shape, there is a new player option for UK fans to evaluate. Could a five-star former Kentucky basketball signee end up staying with UK and Pope? According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, Pope had an in-home visit arranged for Tuesday with Jayden Quaintance, a class of 2024 center who had previously signed with Kentucky under former head coach John Calipari.

Quaintance, a 6-foot-9 center who will not be eligible for the NBA draft until 2026 due to his age, was one of five players from UK’s six-player 2024 recruiting class to decommit when Calipari left for Arkansas and Pope was hired to replace him. Since restarting his recruitment, Quaintance has paid a visit to Louisville. He is also expected to visit Memphis.

Quaintance was supposed to meet with Calipari and the Arkansas program, but this is no longer the case. According to Eric Bossi of 247Sports, Arkansas is no longer a consideration for Quaintance, who became the youngest McDonald’s All-American in history earlier this year. “… I get the same experience for both years, which many other gamers do not obtain. So it’s definitely an amazing opportunity,” Quaintance said of his anticipated two-year college stay at the McDonald’s All-American Game media day earlier this year.

Quaintance was one of three UK signees (together with Somto Cyril and Boogie Fland) who requested a release from a national letter of intent with the UK. Karter Knox (who committed to Arkansas on Monday night) and Billy Richmond had verbal promises to UK but later pulled out. On Monday night, in-state guard and UK signee Travis Perry reaffirmed his decision to come to Lexington to play under Pope, who previously served as head coach at BYU and Utah Valley.

In November, Quaintance chose Kentucky over Missouri, the only other contender in his recruiting. Originally from Ohio, Quaintance finished his prep basketball career at Word of God Christian Academy. The Raleigh, North Carolina, institution also produced the UK’s one-and-done star, John Wall. The floor-spacing big man is a five-star recruit and the eighth-best overall talent in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. This made Quaintance the highest-ranked recruit in the UK’s 2024 class, before the group fell apart.

According to ESPN’s final 2024 high school recruiting rankings (published Tuesday morning), Quaintance is the 16th best player in the class. Quaintance, who is 16 and will turn 17 in July, was reclassified from the 2025 to the 2024 recruitment groups last summer. His inside-out offensive game appears to suit nicely with Pope’s offensive strategies at BYU and Utah Valley. Last season, the Cougars attempted 32 3-pointers a game (the second-most in the country), and much of their offense was led by 6-foot-11 center Aly Khalifa, who was recognized for his passing ability.

Khalifa, who is also a floor-spacing threat, averaged a career-high four assists per game last season at BYU and had the 34th-best assist rate in the country (measured as a player’s assists divided by the field goals made by his teammates while he is on the court).
Mark Pope builds his first Kentucky basketball roster. Pope has had a very productive week as he works to create his first UK basketball roster from scratch. Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State), Joey Hart (Ball State), and Zvonimir Ivisic (Arkansas) are among the 2023-24 Kentucky players who will transfer. Furthermore, Jordan Burks, Adou Thiero, and D.J. Wagner are still in the NCAA transfer portal.

Thiero’s final five alternatives include a return to Kentucky. Arkansas (where he would rejoin Calipari), Indiana, North Carolina, and Pittsburgh are the other colleges he is considering. Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Ugonna Onyenso, and Reed Sheppard have all declared for the NBA draft in 2024. Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves have exhausted their college eligibility. Collin Chandler, a combo guard and former BYU signee, stated last week that he will join Pope to Kentucky. Chandler was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class before going on a two-year mission tour. On Monday, Kentucky officially announced Chandler’s arrival.

On Sunday afternoon, Pope announced his first transfer portal addition of the offseason: former Drexel big man Amari Williams has committed to the UK. Perry, Kentucky’s all-time top scorer in high school boys basketball, committed to Pope and the Wildcats on Monday night. That brings the UK basketball roster for next season to three scholarship players. College basketball players have until May 1 to access the transfer site. The early-entry date for the 2024 NBA draft is April 27, and players who enter with remaining NCAA eligibility have until May 29 to withdraw from consideration and return to school.