Jaland Lowe stepping up as Kentucky's vocal leader: "He's a true point guard."

Unlike Mark Pope‘s first year as head coach, Kentucky will have some returning pieces as he goes into year two.

Headlined by Otega Oweh, who turned down a chance to go pro for another college season, along with Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, and Trent Noah, there is built-in continuity and leadership roles already in place ahead of the 2025-26 season. Oweh, in particular, will be looked upon to embrace an even larger position as one of the Wildcats’ guiding voices.

Last season’s roster was filled with fourth- and fifth-year veterans — guys who already were the vocal leaders with their previous teams before coming to Lexington. By getting younger this offseason, an underclassman or two (or three) will need to step up and fill the leadership roles left in the wake of departures from guys such as Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, etc.

A natural replacement? Pitt transfer point guard Jaland Lowe, who is fully expected to take over as Kentucky’s premier floor general. A rising junior coming off an All-ACC campaign last season with the Panthers, being at UK is an entirely different ball game. That comes with more expectations — one of them stepping up as a vocal leader, even if that doesn’t always come organically to him.

“He’s (Lowe) a real point guard, he’s a true point guard,” Kentucky forward Mo Dioubate, a transfer from Alabama, said on Monday. “He makes the right decision, the right reads. He’s becoming more vocal. First week we got here, he wasn’t as talkative, but now, I feel like he’s comfortable and his talking off the court, the bond that we have off the court, is translating to the court, it’s making him more comfortable, making him more of a leader on the court.”

That comfort has formed within a few short weeks, too. It was only early June that players began arriving on campus. This week marks just the second week of official summer practices. Sure, all of the newcomers (and there are 10 of them on the roster) have watched film on each other and maybe played each other in the past, but for the most part, the majority of the roster doesn’t really know how everyone operates just yet.

Give it a couple of months of practice, and they’ll all familiarize themselves quickly.

But while Lowe continues to find his voice on the floor and gain his teammates’ trust, they already know just how talented he is and what he can bring to the table this season. Kentucky’s backcourt will not be lacking any depth in 2025-26, but Lowe is going to be the straw that stirs the drink. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.5 assists per game a season ago in the ACC.

“He’s very flashy, very quick guard, one of the best guards I’ve seen,” Kentucky guard Denzel Aberdeen, who transferred over from Florida, said of Lowe on Monday. “He has everything; he can be a pro. I learn from him, he learns from me. Just watching him in practice and stuff like that, lead, I’m trying to take little things he does and try to influence it into my game. Playing alongside him is going to be fun, it’s going to be great. It’s going to be scary for a lot of people, too.

Aberdeen actually has college experience playing against Lowe. During the 2023-24 season, a freshman Lowe went up against Florida in just his fifth-ever game with Pitt. Aberdeen and the Gators got the better of the Panthers (an 86-71 win), although neither saw more than 10 minutes of playing time. Regardless, Aberdeen didn’t forget about Lowe after that matchup. While in the portal and even after committing to Kentucky, Aberdeen made sure to keep a close eye on his future backcourt teammate.

“I watched a lot of film on Jaland Lowe,” Aberdeen said. “A guard that can score and pass, gotta play with him.”

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