Mark Pope believes Kentucky will go as far as Jaland Lowe takes them

This Kentucky team will go as far as Jaland Lowe takes them; that’s according to Mark Pope, who raved about his new point guard during an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio the show this morning.

“I think he has the potential to grow into a great leader,” Pope said. “I think for us to be what we want to be, he’s going to have to be a star, and I think he’s ready to do it.”

As a sophomore last season at Pitt, Lowe earned All-ACC honors after averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game for the Panthers, who finished just 17-15, 8-12 in conference play. Lowe tried to do it all with a bad supporting cast, which led to some poor shooting numbers (37.6% from the field, 26.6% from three) and an average of 3.0 turnovers per game. Now at Kentucky, surrounded by one of the strongest rosters in college basketball, he’s primed for a big step forward. As Pope said, Lowe is the straw that stirs the drink.

“He is cat-quick. He is as good as anybody I’ve ever coached at being able to get wherever he wants to on the court whenever he wants to get there. He’s got the potential to be an elite-level playmaker. He’s really got a high IQ in how he kind of understands the game, and he tries to attack the game. And he’s learning that fast.”

Those skills were on display at Kentucky’s Pro Day, where Lowe bullied his way to the basket and made more threes than he missed, all while facilitating and being a vocal leader on the floor. With Lowe driving the ship, Pope believes this year’s team will have even better spacing than last year’s squad, which made it to the Sweet 16 despite frequent injuries to the backcourt.

“One of the things that we want to do is want to get more mobile,” Pope said. “I think this team has a chance to kind of really utilize all the space on the court. I think we have guys that are really athletic, that can cover ground, both offensively and defensively, that have some physicality to them.

“I’m telling you, I’ll talk about this all year long, but man, the competitive spirit of this group, with that, with their ability to get around the court, is going to make this group special.”

Pope brought up mobility again when asked about the differences between this year’s team and last. When healthy, Lamont Butler could get to the rim better than anyone. Based on the small glimpses we got of Lowe during Pro Day, it seems he’s primed to follow in Butler’s very quick footsteps, along with the rest of Kentucky’s loaded backcourt.

“Our mobility really stands out to me. We were a good, cutting team last year, but I think we’re going to be great. We have so many more players who can attack off the bounce, downhill. I think that the pace of our game has a chance to really take a step forward this year.”

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Jaland Lowe on life at Kentucky so far

Lowe spent his first two seasons of college playing for Jeff Capel at Pitt. What’s different about the experience at Kentucky so far? Knowing Mark Pope as we do, his answer probably won’t surprise you.

“I’d just say how positive we are around here. The way that we talk, the way that we watch film, it’s very positive. I feel like that’s kind of different. Normally, growing up, you see all the positives and negatives, and of course, you’ve got to point out the negatives at times, but the way that we talk and the way that we go about our days is in such a positive and good manner that it’s kind of surprising to you and it kind of grows on you and you try to be, not just a better play on the court but a better person.”

Lowe played 35.5 minutes per game last season at Pitt. He’s undeniably the starting point guard for this Kentucky team, but he believes there won’t be any dropoff when he subs out. Denzel Aberdeen split time between the point and combo guard positions last season at Florida, and Collin Chandler even subbed in as Kentucky’s point guard at times when Lamont Butler and/or Jaxson Robinson were hurt. Jasper Johnson could shift over too, creating a plethora of options.

“Nobody here plays the same way,” Lowe told reporters on Media Day. “But at the end of the day, we all strive to play this offense to the best that we can and everybody brings a different point of view and different skill aspect when we play this game, but I feel like whenever I come out of the game and the next player comes in the game, it’s still going to be the same smooth ship sailing. I expect nothing less. The guys and the guards that we have here are really great, and we’re all on the same page about everything.”

We’ll get another look at Lowe and the Cats Saturday night at Big Blue Madness (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). It can’t come soon enough.