Jaland Lowe is confident as a scorer, but don't get it twisted: "I love passing the ball."

Jaland Lowe wants to set the record straight: yes, he enjoys racking up points, but his true passion on the hardwood comes as a facilitator.

“A lot of people got it mixed up that Jaland Lowe just loves to shoot the ball and jack stuff up,” Lowe told reporters Monday. “No, I love passing the ball. I’ve always told people I get more joy in 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 really high level still, so people don’t get that twisted, but I love passing the ball. That’s always been natural for me.”

A rising college junior, Lowe spent his first two college seasons as a Pittsburgh Panther. He averaged 9.6 points per game as a true freshman in 2023-24 before shooting up to 16.8 points per game as a sophomore in 2024-25. The Texas native was named All-ACC Third Team last season as a result, but the wins didn’t follow. Pitt finished 17-15 on the season (8-12 ACC) and failed to make the postseason.

But Lowe wasn’t exactly surrounded by stellar at Pitt, particularly during his second season. According to KenPom, he ranked fourth in the conference in percentage of possessions used and ninth in percentage of shots taken. Lowe was, at times, forced to make something happen. His efficiency suffered. Lowe shot just 37.6 percent from the field in 2024-25.

But by transferring to Kentucky, where the talent around him his taken a significant step up, his scoring load should lighten up. Lowe expects to take over as Mark Pope’s starting point guard in 2025-26. He doesn’t need to attempt the 14.3 shots per game he did last season at Pitt. Now, he can play to his strengths and be himself.

“Cool, calm, collected, playmaker who just wants to make his teammates better, but at the same time, is always a threat to just do everything on the court,” Lowe said when describing his game. “I want to really tap in this year and do everything at a very high level, play defense at a very high level, distribute at a high level, I definitely want to get that up a lot more. And just be a really good leader. And I feel like these guys have really helped me see that that is possible.”

Despite having to carry scoring responsibilities at Pitt, Lowe still showcased his passing skills. He averaged 3.3 assists per game as a freshman and 5.5 assists as a sophomore. His assist rate of 30.6 percent last season ranked sixth in the ACC, per KenPom. Setting up his teammates should be even easier as a Wildcat.

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