Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats were big winners in the transfer portal this offseason, as expected. Sophomore Jayden Quaintance, a potential top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, was the big prize, but few newcomers in Lexington are more exciting than Jaland Lowe, the junior point guard who spent his first two seasons at Pittsburgh.
Lowe took a major leap in usage and production as a sophomore, becoming the Panthers' primary playmaker and generating plenty of compelling stat lines. He finished the season averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists — with 1.8 steals to boot. Not much to complain about.
While Lowe should get plenty of shots up at Kentucky, he is selling himself to fans as a pass-first guard who loves nothing more than setting up a teammate.
"I love passing the ball,” Lowe told reporters, via YourSportsEdge.com. “I’ve always told people that I get more joy from an assist than scoring a basket. My whole life, I’ve been a point guard. That’s what I am. I know how to score the ball at a high level, still, so people don’t get that twisted, but I love passing the ball, and that’s always been natural for me."
It's a great mentality and it mostly shows up in the stats — 5.5 assists (to 3.0 turnovers) with a 31.0 percent assist rate, which was 53rd in all of college hoops according to KenPom. But Lowe's love for passing is often superceded by a more maddening tendency.
Kentucky fans are about to understand Pitt fans' complicated relationship to Jaland Lowe
Lowe presents a classic eye test versus stat nerd conundrum. He just moves like a star on the floor. He's a quick, shifty ball-handler who can get low to the ground and create separation on a dime, and he shoots a gorgeous ball with his left hand. It always looks better with the southpaws.
But for all the shooting Lowe did last season — 5.0 attempts per game from 3-point range — his success rate was rather low. He made 26.6 percent of his 3s overall. While the range, volume and touch are all highly encouraging, the results just weren't there. Lowe's favorite shots often are not efficient ones.
I won't say Lowe took too many threes — the gravity of a shooter matters almost as much as the results — but he certainly needs to get more efficient. Whether that means picking his spots better and spending more time off-ball, stepping into open looks rather than creating from scratch against stout defense, or working on slight mechanical tweaks this offseason, something needs to change.
Lowe takes 3-pointers well behind the line. His ability to stretch the defense out, then gash it up the middle with quick-twitch handles is truly special. This is a guy who felt like a potential first-round pick at one point last season before his shooting numbers cratered. The foundation is strong. He does see the floor well, he can create advantages with the ball on a string, and he looks the part of a torrential pull-up shooter. We're just waiting on the shots to fall. From there, it would all click into place.
The positive outlook? He shot 35.2 percent on 3s in a more streamlined role as a freshman and he's a career 87.7 percent free throw shooter with impressive touch on interior finishes. So the shooting will come around. He just needs to filter out some of those more ambitious shot attempts in Lexington.