Mark Pope Refuses to Give Jayden Quaintance Update After Losing Brutally in Chess Match

Mark Pope Refuses to Give Jayden Quaintance Update After Losing Brutally in Chess Match

How’s Jayden Quaintance doing after his March ACL surgery? According to Mark Pope, we’re not talking about it  and it’s not because the update is grim.

In fact, Quaintance looks great. He’s back on the court, suited up and participating in Kentucky’s summer workouts. Just three months removed from surgery, the former five-star is ahead of schedule. But still, Pope isn’t saying much.

Why? Because the freshman beat him  badly  in a game of chess.

When asked for a progress report during a satellite camp in Laurel County, Pope playfully shut it down.

“I don’t want to talk about Jayden Quaintance  he just beat me in a game of chess in like seven minutes. I am done with him, okay?” Pope laughed. “He beat me the first time we played. I came back and got him, and then we had a rubber match, and he destroyed me. So I have nothing good to say about Jayden Quaintance. Next question.”

Despite Pope’s joking reluctance, signs point to Quaintance making a strong recovery. The initial target return date was September, and Pope has emphasized a cautious approach  though he hasn’t ruled anything out entirely, not even the Nov. 11 showdown with Louisville.

“Talk about a beautiful young person, man,” Pope said in May. “He’s a young  really young, actually. When I say young person, he’s really young, but he’s a beautiful kid. Big Blue Nation is going to fall in love with Jayden Quaintance. He fits on our roster. He’s just a really special person. … He’s working really hard. He’s making tremendous progress right now. … We’re gonna race back to 100 percent health as fast as we can.”

Clearly, Pope isn’t shy about praising the freshman phenom  unless chess is mentioned.

The conversation shifted toward Kentucky’s blossoming chess rivalry, with Pope also asked for an update on his dramatic series with Collin Chandler. Back in January, the coach admitted Chandler had him “terrified” heading into their seventh and final game and even joked about turning it into a pay-per-view chess event through NIL.

“I’m ducking him. I’m terrified,” Pope said back then. “Collin is good because he kind of lets you control the board and all of a sudden you’re like ‘Uh oh. This went really, really bad really, really fast.’ So I’m gonna try to juice this thing and eventually do a pay-per-view, some kind of NIL pay-per-view for game seven.”

Now? Pope claims the tables have turned.

“Collin’s been ducking us, man. I think Collin’s a little nervous. I know he’s not nervous, he never gets nervous, but we’re starting to develop a little culture on this team. It’s gonna get competitive,” Pope teased. “We might do for Big Blue Madness, maybe before we do a little [match]. I don’t know, we’re gonna figure something out.”

Chandler, however, isn’t letting that narrative fly.

“Say what? Oh my goodness, that’s a big lie,” Chandler said. “I can get that on record. I have a text I sent him that I was just moving into my house and I got sent a chess board. I sent him a text and it took him like a week to reply for a chess challenge.”

So who’s ducking who?

Chandler says he’s ready whenever Pope is  and he’s open to bringing Quaintance into the mix.

“I haven’t played Jayden yet, but I’ll have him over and I’ll let you guys know. Next time you see me, ask how it went with Jayden.”

As for now, the UK chess club consists of Pope, Chandler, and Quaintance  but Chandler thinks more might join soon.

“I think we’re the only two that really play besides Coach, but we’ll see. Maybe we’ve got some more guys that just aren’t as vocal about it.”

Whatever happens on the court this season, it’s clear the real battles may start at the chess board. And for now, Pope has some losses he’s not quite ready to forget.