We’re officially nearing the finish line on Jayden Quaintance’s long road back to live game action.
During his Monday call-in show, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope offered the most encouraging update yet on Quaintance’s recovery timeline — and it sounds like Big Blue Nation won’t have to wait much longer.
> “We’re worked up to days and hours, maybe a week or so. Not weeks or months,” Pope said. “That’s pretty exciting. I know he’s excited.”
That kind of language signals a return is imminent. The question now isn’t if Quaintance will debut soon — it’s when.
Kentucky’s next opportunity comes Saturday in Atlanta against Rick Pitino and a physical St. John’s team. The stage would be massive, but the matchup itself could give the staff pause. Asking a player coming off ACL surgery to jump straight into a bruising, high-intensity game may not be ideal unless the minutes are extremely limited.
Because of that, the more realistic target appears to be Kentucky’s December 23 home game against Bellarmine. That contest would allow Quaintance to ease back into competition in a controlled environment before the Wildcats open SEC play on January 3 at Alabama.
Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Ben Roberts echoed that sentiment over the weekend, noting that Bellarmine has been discussed as a potential debut date behind the scenes.
> One potential timeline that was floated to the Herald-Leader over the weekend featured the possibility of Quaintance making his UK debut against Bellarmine on Dec. 23 in Rupp Arena, the final nonconference game on the Wildcats’ schedule.
While having Quaintance available for Saturday’s top-25 showdown would certainly be a boost, patience may be the smarter route. A Bellarmine debut would still give him valuable reps before conference play ramps up — and would feel like an early Christmas gift for the BBN.
At long last, Kentucky appears close to having a fully available roster. And for a team still finding its rhythm under a new staff, that timing couldn’t be better.
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