Mark Pope doesn't have a lot of free time these days.

In fact, when he appeared on basketball insider Jon Rothstein's stream on Wednesday he was stumped by a couple of questions. Asked what actor would best play him in a movie, and then asked how he's a different coach after a year at Kentucky and Pope said he was stumped because of a red-eye flight.

But in some of his free time he's playing chess online, preparing for a game against incoming Wildcat big man Jayden Quaintance, who has challenged Pope to a match.

Speaking to Rothstein, Pope was unsure of Quaintance's real ability at chess. But when it comes to basketball, Pope seems very eager to put Quaintance to work.

Of course, Quaintance is returning from a significant injury and there's no clear set timetable on when he will be available for the Wildcats. But Pope told Rothstein that they're confident they should be in a good spot when the fall rolls around. The point he made numerous times was that Kentucky's training staff would "rush" Quaintance back to "100%" health.

Some have said Quaintance has the talent to be a top-5 pick in next year's draft, but that obviously depends on his readiness and the quality of his play once he returns for Kentucky this season.

With transfers, sometimes a little research is required to determine what a coaching staff might have liked about a player. But given his pedigree, talent, and first year at Arizona State, it's easy to understand why Quaintance was an obvious addition.

Pope pointed out, in that conversation with Rothstein, that he was actually with Quaintance on Tuesday. He called him a "hulking mass of, like, physicality, and like, the greatest kid you're ever going to meet in your life."

"He's a difference maker. You think about a 16 year old is a double double guy in the Big 12. Like, that's insane," Pope said. "And he's a really impressive young man. We're looking forward to getting him back (healthy). He's been incredibly diligent about his rehab. He's with some incredible doctors and we're working really hard to make this transition of care, this continuity of care is going to be really important for him but he's going to race back and be confident and healthy for us soon.

"Just in his physical appearance, and he was a former teammate of mine, if you remember the great Dale Davis. I got to play in my rookie year with Dale and Antonio, the Davis boys, they're not brothers. Dale Davis was an elite level shot blocker, an incredible athlete, can really run the floor, was going to punish you at the rim and he had a presence about him that just screamed intimidation. Jayden has unbelievable timing, he's incredibly mobile, he's actually got some real skill putting the ball on the floor offensively. I think he's just going to be a star."

Pope briefly did touch on the health status of Quaintance. Without sharing any details or making any promises or predictions, Pope explained their approach.

"We're in a full rush," Pope said. "When I say it's full rush, we're going to rush back to 100% complete health. We're thinking, we're optimistic we're going to have really, really good results in the fall."