Three Kentucky men’s basketball commits took to the bright lights in Houston on Tuesday night in the 47th annual McDonald’s All-American game.
With a loaded list of commits and recruits, Kentucky’s five-star Jayden Quaintance, four-star Johnuel “Boogie” Fland and four-star Karter Knox, were all selected to play in the game, making Kentucky as the program with the most selected participants.
Fland, a product of ArchBishop Stepinac in New York, and Quaintance, a product of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, both played on the East squad while Knox, who came from Overtime Elite, played against them on the West squad.
Although they technically weren’t all on the same team, the event was the first time the three had hit the hard-wood together before becoming true teammates in Kentucky blue.
On the stat sheet, Fland stood out the most, stacking 17 points, five rebounds and three assists through 22 minutes of playing time, finishing fourth in total points scored behind Maryland commit Derik Queen’s 23, Rutgers commit Dylan Harper’s 22, and North Carolina commit Ian Jackson’s 21.
“It’s been a blessing,” Fland said. “Watching this as a kid from the Bronx, you know, you don’t really get this opportunity that much.”
While the Bronx native shined on offense, Quaintance — who is listed at 6-feet, 9-inches tall — played more of a pivotal role on the glass by grabbing seven rebounds, the second most behind Queen’s eight.
Quaintance, who is only 16 years old, scored seven points and showed more promise on the defensive end, leading the game in steals with four.
“I’m just kind of already adapted to playing against bigger, stronger guys,” Quaintance said.
Moving to Knox, who is known for both his talent and being the brother of former Kentucky player Kevin Knox, stapled nine points and one rebound in 12 short minutes of playing time.
“Seeing him (Kevin) being selected, like, that really touched my heart,” Knox said. “That’s what really inspired me to play basketball and just keep going and you know, go hard the way I do.”
The Tampa native was the most recent to commit to Kentucky, choosing UK over Louisville, his home town school of South Florida and the NBA G League Ignite. He is the only of the three that has yet to formally sign to Kentucky.
All three showed plenty of potential, providing a sense of optimism to a Kentucky fan base that desperately needed it after another shocking NCAA Tournament exit.
With the McDonald’s All-American game coming to a close, those fans will have to wait until next season to see the three “burger boys” play with each other again and, next time, it will be a much bigger stage as the Wildcats will be under a national microscope.
