Mark Pope excited to 'unleash' Jaland Lowe at Kentucky: "He's got a complete package"

After starting his Kentucky head coaching tenure with Lamont Butler running the show, Mark Pope had to go out and find an equally, if not better, point guard to lead his team going into year two.

And who did he find in the transfer portal? A 6-foot-3 floor general who earned Third-Team All-ACC honors this past season at Pittsburgh — rising junior Jaland Lowe.

“Jaland is an incredibly explosive, playmaking, veteran point guard,” Pope said in UK’s press release on April 11 announcing Lowe as a future Wildcat. “He’s a great kid who has a tremendous work ethic and most importantly, loves this game and wants nothing more than to win.”

That’s all good and well to say in an official statement, but how does Pope really feel about Lowe taking over Kentucky’s PG1 going into 2025-26? What about Lowe drew Pope to his skills in the first place? During an interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Wednesday, Pope went into more detail on why Lowe can be a special player in Lexington.

“I’m excited to get him here and hyper-speed his game,” Pope told Rothstein. “We’re going to really unleash him and push him to play with as much pace as he possibly can… He’s just, he’s so athletic. He’s got such a herky-jerky nature to his game. He’s like an elite-level tailback that can cut, like his cuts could be a 270-degree on a dime cut, change direction.

“He proved to do everything at Pitt. He was an elite-level scorer. He’s incredible at getting to the free-throw line. He was almost six assists a game. He had a real presence on the ball, he’s almost a 3.0 turnover percentage guy (on defense). He’s got a complete package.”

Pope wasn’t being hyperbolic about Lowe doing everything at Pitt, either. His usage rate of 29.7 percent was far and away the highest on the team (and among the highest marks in all of college basketball). Lowe saw 35.4 minutes per game as the Panthers’ do-it-all man on offense. His shooting percentages suffered a bit because of that (37.6 FG%, 26.6 3PT%), but those numbers should tick back up with plenty of talent around him and more room to operate.

If Pope’s words are any indication, he wants Lowe and Kentucky to run this season. They should have the horses to do it. Don’t be shocked if Lowe leads the SEC in assists.

But beyond Lowe’s on-court abilities, Pope is equally excited about what the transfer point guard will bring to the locker room. After two seasons of playing in the ACC, Lowe has already experienced plenty in his college career. He knows how to carry a team. Pope saw those qualities emerge during Lowe’s official visit to UK this past weekend.

“He’s also got a great leadership ability,” Pope added. “You know, having him here on campus, it was fun, because you have these new guys on campus, and you’re kind of out to dinner, and he was the guy that was instigating a lot of the conversation, which is exactly what we need him to be. I think he’s going to be an elite-level leader. He’s got a huge future in this game, and he’s going to come do it in a Kentucky jersey, and join this legacy of incredible point guards that have played here.”

Big things are in store for Lowe as a Wildcat.

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