This is interesting…
- Thread starter Vek96
- Start date
Seriously don't think he'll be back this season. Recovery timeline on his shoulder injury is like 6 months. Better chance of seeing JQ.
JQ is probably shut down, but......
with this week off, this would be the best chance to see him again.
And then what...get hurt again?? No thanks.
Some of you all are bipolar. We need another PG!! Lowe comin back? No thanks!
You get him back if you can this year all day every day.
You get him back if you can this year all day every day.
If he could get truly healthy (not get knocked out of the game with every bump), then you absolutely want him back. You can't deny his heart, because he's proven he will do anything to be out there.
I don't think he means this season but if he does, he can come off the bench to spell DA at times. What we have is working. What we HAD, didn't. After seeing JQ, I feel the same about him. Both can add something to the team but other than the SJ game, JQ didn't show me much. It'd be nice if he comes back for the UF game, but only if he's ready to give 110% and he doesn't screw with the chemistry we have built without either of them.
I’m assuming this was in reference to contract negotiations for next year. Or at least I hope it was.
Totally. Lowe doesnt need to start but it would be awesome to have him available.
I'm not sure what there is to misunderstand. I don't think Lowe is talking about being back for THIS season. Even if he is, he needs to come off the bench. Yes, we need a PG1 but I'm not sure he's it..tomorrow.I’m assuming this was in reference to contract negotiations for next year. Or at least I hope it was.
Exactly, talking about next season. And I am happy to have him back along with Chandler, Moreno, Noah, Kam, and all the other alleged D2 and Juco level kids we supposedly have
We’re playing our best ball right now. DA and JJ are doing a good job, don’t mess it up.
We never really had Lowe but the few minutes he played overall he did well. What games were you watching?
Just interesting that he would post about next season already. So many variables.
Kentucky is rolling right now, don’t mess with the chemistry
I've watched all of them. We looked like a disjointed(small play) mess in a lot of them. We're better right now than we have been all year. DA and the others have settled into their roles.
Pope’s offense needs a facilitator, not an Iverson wanna be made of glass! Hard pass for me, but whatever. Huge mistake if this guy comes back to UK next season 
Nothing wrong with having a backup PG. I'd take him.
JL would be fine as an option off the bench next year maybe.
Anything more than that is a no for me, dawg.
Anything more than that is a no for me, dawg.
I have mixed feelings about Lowe. There were a few games where he racked up a lot of assists, which made us really hard to guard. But more times than not, he was locked in on just scoring and that made us one dimensional. The rest of the team stood and watched.
If you can get him to play team ball and drive to score only when it's the best option, cool, that's fine, but it also has to be understood that there will be at least one other good pg on the roster, maybe 2. That's the most important position on the floor, we can't just roll the dice with 1 guy.
If you can get him to play team ball and drive to score only when it's the best option, cool, that's fine, but it also has to be understood that there will be at least one other good pg on the roster, maybe 2. That's the most important position on the floor, we can't just roll the dice with 1 guy.
Can't imagine him making it back this season but it's definitely a positive if he does. Someone else could get injured or maybe for certain matchups he really helps us out.
Lowe can go. Seemed like a selfish, me first point guard. Wasn’t impressed with him at all. Use his money to find better fit.
I felt like Lowe was a ball dominant pg who shot too much and the team stood around too much. Kentucky needs a pg, especially with Pope's offense, who can score WITHIN the offense and not try to BE the offense. A pg like Woods, Ford, Epps, Turner, and Macy would be perfect for this offense. It seems like DA is settling into this role now.
Jasper has a much higher ceiling and he’s not injury prone like Lowe. I’d take Jasper back over Lowe 100/100 times and I say that as someone who thought JJ was overrated coming into UK.
Jasper wouldn’t know a good shot if he was standing at the free throw line. He’s been a complete disaster all year. Most selfish player I’ve ever seen at UK.
First of all, I don't think he is trying to say he would or even might be back this season.
Secondly, for those of you saying "no we don't want him", you are stupid. Do we want him as the starting PG? Now that is debatable. I think given his injury, Pope (does and should) tells him "we would love to have you back, but we will have to plan as though someone else will be the starting PG, with you as the backup, but give you the opportunity to beat the other guy out of the spot".
As for JQ, in the unlikely event that either his knee or lack of offensive ability deters NBA teams enough that he may return, yeah I'd take him back. Even if (which I think and hope happens) Moreno returns. A healthy JQ can guard 4's, and that would be a pretty good front court. Would just need to make sure 1-3 can all shoot (which is a strike against Lowe to start)!! But as I started this out saying, it's quite unlikely that JQ doesn't go & stay in the draft & get drafted.
Secondly, for those of you saying "no we don't want him", you are stupid. Do we want him as the starting PG? Now that is debatable. I think given his injury, Pope (does and should) tells him "we would love to have you back, but we will have to plan as though someone else will be the starting PG, with you as the backup, but give you the opportunity to beat the other guy out of the spot".
As for JQ, in the unlikely event that either his knee or lack of offensive ability deters NBA teams enough that he may return, yeah I'd take him back. Even if (which I think and hope happens) Moreno returns. A healthy JQ can guard 4's, and that would be a pretty good front court. Would just need to make sure 1-3 can all shoot (which is a strike against Lowe to start)!! But as I started this out saying, it's quite unlikely that JQ doesn't go & stay in the draft & get drafted.
Honestly, I would rather see more zoom action from the top, but Lowe doesn’t fit that system either.
I still think this team has fought chemistry problems. I'm not saying anything except, we're playing better and the chemistry is working better. What changed?
UK didn't land the guys in both the HS recruiting cycle and the Portal cycle to run Pope's regular 5 out zoom offense. We missed on a stretch 4 with 37-40% 3PT shooting who also had a low post game and took a flier on Jelavich "possibly" being that late in the portal cycle. All the backup point guard options transferred (Krissa, Perry) or decomitted (Lewis) and the one we signed (Lowe) is not a 5 out zoom offense style point. Garrison and Moreno (while improving at ball handling) are not Amari Williams (or even Khalifa from Popes BYU squad) when it comes to passing and ballhandling outside the paint. Kam Williams was not Kobe Brea like the staff had hoped.
I say all that to say this. We never had a game with a 100% healthy Lowe, so what we did get to see was a shell. But even then, the team went away from zoom and 5 out early this year to fit the roster (and point guard) we had. The team looked lost, Pope even mentioned multiple times that guys decision making and running simple cuts, screens, and set offenses were difficult for some of the guys playing heavy minutes. Our offense was stagnant because some of them were lost and everyone stood around waiting for someone else to make a play. And when you don't have a DUDE, Oweh slowed by recovering from turf toe, and several guys completely lost, several black hole force a shot everytime they touch the ball players, and a floor full of bad shooters it leads to head scratching offense. The pieces didn't fit, and honestly still don't but they are finding a way. It doesn't appear, from game film anyways, that we are forcing the "J Lowe" offense that we ran at the beginning of the year. Instead we are running a little zoom, some weave, some 4 out, nascar cuts and seal offs that we didn't run at all in November and December. Jelavich is providing a little better service in Kam's absence. Moreno continues to improve. Garrison is starting to play like he cares. Oweh is back to bull in a china shop. Aberdeen isn't forcing as many bad shots and is trusting his teammates more. Chandler has confidence again and coming up huge when we need him. Noah is providing valuable minutes when often undersized and less athletic than his assignment but still giving 110% effort. And Jasper has started to shows signs he's figuring it out that he doesn't have to shoot it everytime he touches it. Even Mo has accepted his role of coming off the bench.
I think the shortened rotation let everyone get forced into a role, AND the players are buying into their roles. Pope can coach the X's and O's. The hang up will continue to be, can Pope recruit the guys he needs to run the team the way he wants, AND can he recruit the guys skilled enough to hang banners. My only two knocks on him are recruiting (land a 5 star) and coaching player effort (we should never get blown out from lack of effort and it happens far too often under Pope).
I agree with all of that but I don't think it explains the lack of chemistry until recently. They started playing together, like a switch was flipped and started improving in all the areas you mention. Again, I still think we have had chemistry issues on this team. Not sure who the main ones are that were causing it, but he/they appear to not be in our current rotation.
Been a lot of smoke that Oweh and Aberdeen didn't like each other AT ALL early. Combination of Oweh missing all that time over the summer and then coming in as the defacto leader, pre-season SEC Player of the Year, highly paid in NIL, and hyped up. They are basically very similar versions of each other in size and skill set. I'm sure they were matched up against each other in practice daily and a rift grew from there. There were multiple games where they flat out refused to pass to each other early on. I definitely think there was something there that might not be now.
I don't think Kam was a chemistry issue ever. He doesn't give off that vibe and neither does his Dad. They both seem genuine. Lowe never felt like a cancer either (to team chemistry at least). JQ I couldn't say 100%, but he seems smiling and happy and supportive (not so much his dad). So I don't know if I'd pin it on someone not in the rotation.
Mo seemed like a very likely candidate as well. Because, well, he's Mo... tough, emotional, talks a lot of snot, etc. So maybe that was it. He accepted his bench role and admitted he isn't here to shoot threes, maybe?
Either way, when a team starts as badly as UK did. There HAD to have been a lot of finger pointing internally that created a wider rift and strained some relationships. There HAD to be. Just no one is really saying who and what the beef was that actually knows. Lots of rumors though.
OK, you're in line for one of the most moronic posts of the year. He has had some key moments and several games recently, including his defensive effort.. he's not selfish at all I think sometimes his focus is too narrow, but he is often looking for Moreno to pass off to as well as guys in the corner.