Could Jayden Quaintance be Kentucky's best defender since Nerlens Noel?

Kentucky may have a gem in transfer Jayden Quaintance. With how good he is as a defender, his potential combined with his draft stock and size, it's no question why scouts and many who cover the sport are so high on the 6-7 big man. Last season at Arizona State, you could see the potential. His best game on the defensive end included 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and a steal to go along with 15 points.

An absolute force, Quaintance really could end up being Kentucky's best defender since Nerlens Noel in 2012-13. Last season, Quaintance had a number of games were he showed his defensive prowess with multiple blocks. He had 21 games with at least a single block, including 11 of those with at least three shots erased. Quaintance even had three games where he recorded five blocks, with two games having 6 blocks. One draft analytics page on X even called Quaintance one of the best defensive prospect he's ever covered.

For Kentucky fans curious about Jayden Quaintance in short: he is a unicorn talent.

At just 17 years old (!), he’s one of the best defensive prospects I’ve ever evaluated — he sits at the table with some of the best underclassmen defensive prospects over the years.

Get hyped. https://t.co/76g20xWQfW pic.twitter.com/AjRwIpsqXO
— Mohamed (@mcfdraft) April 8, 2025

His block numbers alone should make you consider the possibility of Quaintance being Kentucky's best defender since Noel in 2012-13. but the way they both are forces on that end of the floor hasn't been seen at Kentucky in years, possibly even since then. Noel had 11 games with five or more blocks,, including his best coming against Ole Miss, where he had 12 blocks, a performance still talked about today and still holds as the single-game record in program history. With Quaintance's season-ending injury last season and the inconsistent minutes, being a focal point of the frontcourt in Mark Pope's offense could pay dividends next season to be the best defender at Kentucky in over a decade.

It still remains to be seen how Quaintance will do at Kentucky, backing up his high defensive praise and top 5 draft stock, but all of that praise and hype coming from NBA scouts and many draft analysts should bode well with the massive potential he is bringing to Lexington.