Who is Jayden Quaintance? 5 things to know about prized Arizona State basketball recruit
Arizona State basketball coach Bobby Hurley received a huge commitment from 6-foot-9 center Jayden Quaintance earlier this week, one that shocked much of the college basketball world.
Who is Jayden Quaintance? What can ASU basketball fans expect from him in Tempe?
Here are five things to know about the highly-recruited prospect from Cleveland, including his recruiting history, ranking and possible impact for the Sun Devils in their first season in the Big 12 in 2024-25.
Quaintance most recently played at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina and was the highest-ranked uncommitted college basketball player at the time of his commitment to ASU.
More: Bobby Hurley, Arizona State basketball turn heads with Jayden Quaintance commitment
Jayden Quaintance is the highest-rated recruit in Arizona State basketball history
A consensus five-star prospect, Quaintance is ranked as the No. 8 player nationally, No. 2 at center and No. 1 in his state by 247Sports and is tabbed No. 16 in ESPN's top 100 prospects.
James Harden was the No. 11-ranked prospect when he committed to ASU. The Sun Devils' third highest-rated prospect was Josh Christopher in 2020.
To add context to this morning's news...@Rivals began its rankings with the class of 2003. Here are @SunDevilHoops' top-20 overall commits in that era:
No. 8 - Jayden Quaintance, 2024 (current ranking, not yet signed)
No. 11 - James Harden, 2007
No. 12 - Josh Christopher, 2020— Joe Healey (@JoeHealey42) April 29, 2024
Jayden Quaintance had a lot of college basketball options
The center had 22 offers with ASU beating out the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Florida and Oregon for his services.
Quaintance was originally committed to Kentucky, but changed his mind when John Calipari left the school for Arkansas. Memphis and Louisville were in pursuit of Quaintance when he committed to Arizona State.
Jayden Quaintance was the highest-ranked uncommitted prospect left on the board in the 2024 class. Huge pickup for Bobby Hurley. https://t.co/OumxJfrkGF
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 29, 2024
Arizona State lands a MASSIVE commitment from 5 ⭐️ center Jayden Quaintance.
Quaintance chose ASU over Alabama, Kentucky, NC State, Baylor, Kansas and several others. Bobby Hurley isn’t messing around. https://t.co/2WewYnCcz3— Anthony Totri (@Anthony_Totri) April 29, 2024
Jayden Quaintance is familiar with Arizona
Quaintance has played in Arizona before, as a freshman at Dream City Christian, a prep academy in Phoenix.
"We went out on the visit and it was right," Quaintance's father, Haminn Quaintance told 247 Sports. "Arizona State has a former teammate of Jayden's from Dream City Christian (Shawn Phillips Jr.) where he played as a freshman and Jayden is really familiar with the state of Arizona, so it all just worked out."
The father of Jayden Quaintance, ASU five-star 2024 center commit.
"We went out on the visit and it was right. Arizona State has a former teammate of Jayden's from Dream City Christian where he played as a freshman and Jayden is really familiar with the state of Arizona so it…— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) April 29, 2024
Jayden Quaintance is young
The center is just 16 years old and is regarded as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Since he is so young, he won't be eligible for the draft for two seasons, making it so that he could play two years for the Sun Devils, unless he transfers.
More: Arizona State men's basketball lands its highest-ranked prospect in program history
If all goes well, ASU could have blue-chip commit Jayden Quaintance in Tempe for up to two seasons.
Quaintance is only 16 years old and will not be one-and-done eligible in accordance with the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. He reclassified from 2025 to 2024 last summer.— Noah Furtado (@_noahfurtado) April 29, 2024
Jayden Quaintance could have instant impact for Sun Devils
ASU's roster will look very different in 2024-25, and Quaintance, a McDonald's All-American, could have an immediate impact on the team in its first season in the Big 12.
247 Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein raved about Quaintance's potential in a scouting report: "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. Offensively, he has all the natural tools to be a huge mismatch threat. He's already a major lob and tip-dunk threat who dunks balls while still on his way up, and is equally dangerous out of the dunker spot. He's intent on developing his shooting range and has the natural touch to do so, which will allow him to maximize floor-spacing in both directions. Consequently, he should be a very tough cover in ball-screen action, because he's equally capable of rolling or popping. He can put the ball on the floor and attack opposing bigs off the dribble. He's also a threat to out-run them from rim-to-rim and capable of both making tough catches in traffic and then absorbing contact. Long-term, he should even be someone who is difficult to double-team because of his natural passing ability."
i can’t believe jayden quaintance is a sun devil
— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) April 29, 2024
Michelle Gardner contributed to this story.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is Jayden Quaintance? What to know about ASU basketball recruit
