Did Arizona State Drop the Ball with Jayden Quaintance?

As a former five-star prospect, Quaintance has the ability to be the next best defender in college basketball, but now he's off to a new program.

Arizona State Sun Devils forward Jayden Quaintance (21) catches a rebound against Kansas Jayhawks in the first half of the game inside Allen Fieldhouse Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s still early, but Arizona State might’ve let one of college basketball’s most fascinating prospects slip away.

Jayden Quaintance, a former five-star recruit, played one season with the Sun Devils. In that time, he battled through injuries, most notably a torn ACL on March 19.

This season was supposed to be his freshman year, but he reclassified early to fast-track his shot at the next level. That path originally took him to Kentucky.

But after John Calipari left Lexington for Arkansas, Quaintance entered the transfer portal and landed at Arizona State to play for Bobby Hurley.

It wasn’t an elite season by any means, but Quaintance showed how valuable he can be on the defensive end.

In his first career college game against Idaho State, he registered six blocks, using his tremendous bounce and athleticism to anchor the defense. He averaged 2.6 blocks per game and had only three games all season without one.

That presence is daunting. If you’re driving to the rim and Quaintance is on the floor, anything is fair game.

He made the Big 12 All-Defense Team and All-Freshman Team. But once the season ended, he re-entered the portal, and ironically, ended up right back where it all began: Kentucky.

On his podcast Inside College Basketball Now, analyst Jon Rothstein called Quaintance a true wild card for the Wildcats:

“Watching this kid last year when he was at Arizona State, watching his timing on defense, watching his ability to read opposing offenses — if he's healthy, Jayden Quaintance, in my opinion, has a legitimate chance to be in the discussion to potentially be a National Defensive Player of the Year candidate.”

So it bears the question: Did Arizona State drop the ball? Or was Quaintance always bound to leave for Kentucky due to his connections?

We know the team last season had issues. BJ Freeman was kicked off the team, the Sun Devils lost 10 out of their final 11 games, injuries piled up, and they even lost a four-star commit in Jaion Pitt.

The Sun Devils were always going to look vastly different this year. But was there anything Hurley could’ve done to keep a defensive anchor like Quaintance in Tempe?

With a player that gifted, letting him walk for nothing stings — no matter the circumstances.

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