Jaland Lowe calls wearing a Kentucky jersey 'second to none'

Pittsburgh guard Jaland Lowe announced his transfer to Kentucky in April, immediately setting himself up to be the second starting point guard of the Mark Pope era (following Lamont Butler). In two seasons at Pitt, Lowe averaged 13.1 points and 4.3 assists for a Panther program that went just 54-26 with no NCAA Tournament appearances over the two-year span.

Lowe discussed head coach Mark Pope’s recruiting pitch and his first thoughts when donning a Kentucky jersey.

“The first time I met [Mark Pope], he was meeting me at my hotel in Minnesota,” Lowe said. “It was the second day I got there. I transferred [from Pittsburgh] and he was at my hotel the next day. I was so surprised because I was not thinking anything was gonna be like that. But, he came up there and was basically telling me the plan of how I would fit into his system and how much he wants me to get better.”

“The guys around it would be a joy to play with them at a high level, and then putting on the Kentucky name is just second to none. At the time I was like ‘that sounds amazing’, I was still focused on NBA but I was like ‘man, this feels pretty comfortable if I wanna go to college.’ Then I’m like man, yeah I gotta go to Kentucky. It’s the only option.”

Lowe was a scoring machine at Pittsburgh

Lowe remained in the NBA Draft after announcing his transfer to Kentucky, but pulled his name out prior to the deadline. He was the No. 52 ranked player in the Portal according to On3 and was the No. 15 ranked point guard.

He was extremely consistent last season, earning an All-ACC Honorable Mention. The point guard scored 20 points on 10 different occasions, including a monster performance against Ohio State on November 29. Lowe poured in a season-high 28 points in a 91-90 OT victory over the Buckeyes, who thrashed Kentucky 85-65 just five games later.

Lowe has been a pivotal piece to Kentucky‘s star-studded Transfer Portal class, which is ranked No. 2 in On3’s rankings. He’s joined by Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen, Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate, Arizona State forward Jayden Quaintance, Miami (OH) center Reece Potter and Tulane forward Kam Williams to go along with returners guard Otega Oweh, forward Brandon Garrison, forward Trent Noah and guard Collin Chandler.

The ‘Cats are seeking their first Final Four since 2015 and first National Championship since 2012 this season.