NBA scout shares thoughts on incoming Kentucky five-star recruit

Kentucky is getting an elite post player in the 2024 class.

Apr 1, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; McDonald's All American East forward Jayden Quaintance speaks during / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Last night, we saw three future Kentucky players play in the McDonald's All-American Game. Jayden Quaintance, Karter Knox, and Boogie Fland all hit the floor in Houston to show the world what they have.

Fland had the most points of these three players with 17, but both Knox and Quaintance played well.

Jamie Shaw of On3 spoke with an NBA scout about Quaintance, and this is what he said to him: “Jayden Quaintance has all the physical tools and simply does things naturally that you cannot teach. He is young, so it will be interesting to see if Cal can get his mental maturity up. He has as much upside as any big in this class. I’m not sure if he should have reclassed that year; he’s so young. It could go either way for him.”

When you watch Quaintance play he plays the game with a ton of intensity and is an elite rebounder. He looked really sound pulling down rebounds. Once the ball touched his hands, he and only he was coming down with the ball. We haven't seen this since Oscar Tshiebwe was at Kentucky.

As the scout told Shaw, Quaintance is a very young player who will be able to develop during his time in Lexington.

He still has some things to figure out offensively, but Quaintance is going to be a college basketball star and will be a highly drafted guy when he is draft-eligible.

Watching Quaintance play in the McDonald's All-American Game, it was very clear that his upside is through the roof.