Jaland Lowe admits he 'hated' Denzel Aberdeen as a freshman

Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen are two of Kentucky‘s several incoming transfers this offseason. While many of these newcomers are complete strangers to each other — Lowe and Aberdeen’s paths have crossed on the basketball court once before.

The matchup between the two Wildcats’ former teams left a lasting impression on Lowe. He ended up having some strong feelings toward his new teammate at the time.

“I didn’t like [Aberdeen] at first. Actually, I hated him because I played on him freshman year (when he was) at Florida. That really was my wake up call to college basketball,” Lowe told reporters. “I went out there and I tried to give him a little bump when he came in the game. He did not move at all, and I went backwards. Then they beat us, I think we ended up losing by like 30.”

Lowe is selling his former squad a little short, as Pitt lost to Florida 86-71 on Nov. 22 during the 2023-24 season — Lowe’s first at the collegiate level. Aberdeen played five minutes during the matchup.

He took one shot during the contest and finished with an assist and a rebound. Lowe didn’t see much more time than Aberdeen, though, logging two points and two rebounds in nine minutes of action.

“Since that day, I knew [Aberdeen] was a strong guard who could do everything,” Lowe said. “He’s got to have the platform to allow that, and he’s got more than enough tools to do everything that’s required. He can, he can shoot the ball at a very high level. He can make plays from deep. His defense is amazing, so he has all of the tools.”

Aberdeen ultimately spent three seasons with the Gators, most recently enjoying his best season yet averaging 7.7 points and 1.4 assists per game for the eventual national champions. He mostly served in a reserve role, starting in five of the 83 games her appeared in during his time there.

Meanwhile, Lowe was given more opportunities to showcase his scoring prowess during his two seasons. As a sophomore this past season, he averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 assists (top 40 in the country) and 4.2 rebounds per game as the Panthers’ leading scorer.

Now, they’re both in Lexington ready to play vital roles in Mark Pope’s second season as head coach. Fans will get to see them in action for the first time when Kentucky hosts exhibition matchups against Purdue and Georgetown in late October.