UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr. Presents 'Versatile' Challenge for Kentucky

The four-year starter is playing as good as ever for the No. 16 Bruins this season.

Kentucky basketball has already faced its fair share of top-tier talent through the first nine games of the 2022-23 season. 

From Gonzaga's Drew Timme to Michigan's Hunter Dickinson, some of the best forwards in the country have gone toe-to-toe — and had their way — with the Wildcats. 

Timme was one of three Bulldogs to eclipse 20 points in the Zags' win over UK in Spokane, dropping 22 to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Dickinson wasn't able to lead the Wolverines to victory, but he led all scorers with 23 points, as well as nine boards and three blocks. 

Another stout challenge awaits UK this Saturday in the form of the No. 16 UCLA Bruins. Leading the charge for coach Mick Cronin's 9-2 team is senior guard-forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. 

“He’s one of the top 10 players in college right now,” UK assistant coach Orlando Antigua said of Jaquez when speaking to reporters on Thursday. 

The Camarillo, California native is averaging 17.1 points-per-game to go along with 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals midway through December. The forward has started since his freshman season, but has seen steady progression across his tenure as a Bruin. 

He emerged in the 2020-21 season that saw UCLA make a run to the Final Four after barely scraping into March Madness as an 11-seed. He, along with former Wildcat Johnny Juzang and current point guard Tyger Campbell, found five consecutive victories in the tournament, setting the table for success in the coming seasons. 

Jaquez poured in 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds-per-game that season, then averaged 13.9 PPG last year. He's now amidst another strong start, keeping UCLA as a perennial contender in the Pac-12.

On Wednesday night, the Bruins flew across the country to hand No. 20 Maryland an 87-60 walloping in College Park, to which Jaquez contributed 14 points and seven boards. 

“His versatility,” Antigua said when asked about Jacquez's skill.  “Jaime is an extremely talented young man. You can see over the years his growth in terms of his ball-handling ability now. Last night they actually had him playing some at the point — defending fours, but he was playing at the point. He’s been great on the block, he’s got great footwork, knows how to play, he’s a tough matchup.”

"Jaquez is a first-round draft pick. He can go get baskets and is really good," head coach John Calipari added. 

There's not much Jaquez can't do when he's got the ball in his hands. He's quick and can score from the perimeter, but is even more comfortable getting down in the post, wearing defenders down, working to find the most efficient look imaginable.

So who'll be the man mainly responsible for trying to lock down the senior on Saturday? 

As you might've expected, that pressure will mostly fall on the shoulders of Jacob Toppin, while true freshman Chris Livingston and possibly Daimion Collins will also give it a go if the forwards gets extended run inside Madison Square Garden:

“Jacob is one of our best defenders who can move with him and utilize his length a little bit on him," Antigua said. "I think Jacob will take some pride in that kind of matchup, but we’ll probably have to put a couple of guys on him.”

No matter who's on Jaquez, he'll still likely find the bottom of the cup on more than a few occasions. It'll be up to the Cats to try and keep him in check as much as possible while making other Bruins beat them on the offensive end. 

“The biggest thing is they’re really physical," Calipari said of the Bruins. "If you don’t fight, you have no chance in this game so you’ve got to negate that part of it. Really hard to do. Not many people have been able to do it." 

"They’re really good. This will be a really hard game for us.”

Kentucky's fight showed for the first time this season in the win over Michigan on Dec. 4. Following a 10-point win over Yale, the Cats will look to carry momentum into what could be the turning-point game of the season. 

After UCLA's win over Maryland, Jaquez made sure it was known that he and the Bruins weren't looking ahead to the CBS Sports Classic this weekend, and won't be overlooking the Cats when they share the court at the mecca: 

"I think that’s something that as a team we’ve been good at for a really long time. I know since I’ve been here all four years we’ve never looked ahead any game since I’ve been here. It’s always one step at a time, and eventually you take the steps all the way hopefully all the way to another Final Four and hopefully a national championship."

Tip-off is set for 5:15 p.m. EST at MSG and will air on CBS. 

More on the win over Yale here.

More on Oscar Tshiebwe's towering performance against the Bulldogs here.

More on CJ Fredrick's shooting struggles here.

Watch John Calipari post-game here.

Game notes for the victory can be found here.

Kentucky moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest AP Poll.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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