Why Mark Pope Calls Jaland Lowe 'Santa Claus' and How His Kentucky Debut was a 'Fever Dream'

Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe vs. Valparaiso - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio/On3

Jaland Lowe made his Kentucky debut on Friday in a 107-59 win over Valparaiso. Everyone had their own way of describing Lowe’s debut in the blue and white.

After sitting out the first two exhibitions with a shoulder injury, the 6-foot-1 guard came back for the Cats’ second game of the season. He finished with six points, five assists, and zero turnovers in 18 minutes.

With a few minutes left in the game, Lowe said he went to Otega Oweh and acknowledged his emotions in the game. He said that he told Oweh, “This is wild.”

“I just told him it’s like a Fever Dream,” Lowe said. “It didn’t feel real. It just felt like I was going through the motions a little bit, just looking around, observing everything. It felt amazing to be out there in front of this crowd.”

The Pitt transfer finished with six points, but most importantly to Kentucky coach Mark Pope, he had a five-assist, zero-turnover game. Everyone loves a good player comp. Pope might have my favorite, comparing Lowe to Santa Claus.

“J Lowe is like Santa Claus out there, man,” Pope said during his postgame interview with Tom Leach. “Put him in a big, fluffy red…well, not red. A blue Santa Claus jacket, and it would seem like it makes sense. Our guys love playing with him. We’re just grateful to have him back on the floor.”

Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning

By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.

‘He’s Cat-Quick’

Mark Pope went even further in his description of Jaland Lowe during his interview with Tom Leach. For him to have a five-assist, zero-turnover performance in his first appearance with UK is something Pope brought up multiple times.

“He’s cat-quick, guys. He can get wherever he wants on the floor,” Pope said. “It actually makes things really easy. He’s throwing darts out there, finding guys in the corner. He was 5-0. You think about that. He hasn’t played a game in a Kentucky jersey, comes off the bench, has five assists, [and] zero turnovers. I’m really proud of him for that.”

Teammates have to be ready for Lowe’s passes, or “darts” as Pope called them. It worked out well for Kentucky on Friday, but it doesn’t always end like that.

“I’ve smacked a lot of teammates with the ball because I always tell my guys just to be ready,” Lowe said. “Some guys don’t know. I see them sometimes, and I’m going to get it there when it needs to get there. I’ve done a great job in the last couple of years in my guys knowing and preparing them for that.”