5-star big man Jayden Quaintance to sign with Arizona State
Apr 29, 2024, 9:36 AM | Updated: 8:33 pm
Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts against the Syracuse Orange during the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 14, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Recent Kentucky decommit Jayden Quaintance told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he will sign with the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Quaintance is the No. 2 center prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and the eighth-ranked player in the country, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings. He decommitted from Kentucky on April 10 and visited ASU on Friday.
Quaintance is the highest-rated recruit in ASU history, edging out one-and-done guard Josh Christopher.
The 2024 McDonald’s All-American out of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, is listed at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds.
Adam Finkelstein’s scouting report of Quaintance on 247 Sports paints the picture of a work-in-progress prospect who can make an immediate impact with his natural scoring skills both inside and out:
Jayden Quaintance is one of the most naturally talented prospects in the country. He’s 6-foot-9 with massively long arms (7-foot-3-plus wingspan), vertical athleticism, a strong frame, good hands, soft touch, shooting potential, natural face-up skill, and signs of a passing instinct. He also runs the floor well and is a solid rebounder when he commits himself.
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Quaintance won’t turn 17 until July but is reclassifying.
For Arizona State, that’s good news as he won’t be eligible for the NBA Draft until 2026 at earliest because of the collective bargaining agreement, meaning he is not a one-and-done prospect if reaching that league is his goal and head coach Bobby Hurley can keep him in Tempe.
The commitment is a major win for Hurley and staff considering the Sun Devils’ recent struggles retaining players.
It’s momentum that also comes on the heels of a report from The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, who over the weekend reported Hurley is in talks to leverage his personal story as a high-profile player and coach by working with “major Hollywood producers and a streaming platform” to create a docuseries.
Hurley’s 2024 recruiting class is ranked No. 7 in the country. It’s wing- and big-heavy with four-star high school forwards Amier Ali and Sammie Yeanay ranked as four-star players and top-100 recruits in the class as well.
The class also includes three-star guard Bo Aldridge and three-star center Jaden Smith, although Smith will reportedly reopen his recruitment following the addition of Quaintance.
Hurley had hit the transfer portal hard in this reset for 2024-25. In the last few week’s he’s added scoring punch from guards Austin Nunez (Ole Miss), Alston Mason (Missouri State) and BJ Freeman (Milwaukee), plus forward Basheer Jihad (Ball State). With the exception of Nunez, who is returning to Arizona State after leaving following his freshman year, all led their prior teams in scoring.
