What Jaland Lowe's commitment means for Kentucky

It’s tough to say goodbye to Lamont Butler, one of the most beloved point guards in recent Kentucky memory, someone who played with grit, passion and toughness on both ends of the floor. That time has come, though, Mark Pope forced to find his replacement to lead the Wildcats this upcoming season.

The answer? Pittsburgh transfer Jaland Lowe, who announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday. Pope flew to see him in Minneapolis right before the dead period this week, and now, he’s been rewarded with his next floor general.

What are the Cats getting in the 6-3 guard out of Missouri City, TX? And what does his addition mean for the program at it looks to put the final touches on the roster?

Kentucky lands a do-it-all threat

The ACC stunk this year, obviously, but guard play was strong — and Lowe was among the best of the bunch, earning Third Team All-ACC honors on a team that finished No. 10 in the league. He did a ton individually despite poor team play overall, leading the Panthers in scoring (16.8 PPG), assists (5.5 APG) and steals (1.8 SPG) while also pulling down 4.2 rebounds per contest. With a 30.0% usage rate, he graded out in the 98th percentile in playmaking with a 31.0% assist rate and in the 88th percentile in offensive impact, capable of making really tough shots at all three levels. Turnovers were an issue (3.0 TPG), but Lowe is an excellent floor general who finds his teammates as well as anybody in the portal. He’s got underrated size, too, standing 6-3, but playing longer as a disruptive and handsy defender.

Evan Miyakawa has Lowe ranked No. 16 overall in the portal and No. 6 among point guards, sitting in the 96th percentile in scoring volume and in the 90th percentile in steal rate. The newest Wildcat was the best player on a mediocre team, set to join a roster full of talented pieces in a system designed to create space and good shots.

Must improve shooting efficiency

The list of positives is certainly longer than the negatives, but that doesn’t mean Kentucky’s newest addition is perfect. If he was, he’d be a first-round pick in June, not finding a new home in the portal.

For all he does well, Lowe does, however, shoot just 37.6 percent from the field and 26.6 percent from three while firing away as a high volume guy, taking 14.3 attempts overall and 5.0 from deep per contest. He was asked to do a lot as the go-to guy, leading to questionable shot selection with a high degree of difficulty. When the volume was limited as a freshman, his efficiency was solid, knocking down 35.2 percent on 2.7 attempts per game. There are signs he could get back to that — if not better — with cleaner looks and less attention. His 88.6 percent hit rate at the line may be the best sign, that typically translating to shooting upside.

Take Lamont Butler, for example. When he got to Kentucky, he was coming off a year with shooting splits of 42/30/59 and career averages of 41.2 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three and 67.5 percent at the line. Playing for Pope, he upped those splits to career highs overall (49.8 FG%) and from three (39.1 3P%). The hope is suiting up in a player-friendly system alongside better talent with defenders not obsessing over his every move the way they did at Pittsburgh will improve efficiency with lighter volume.

Then you get the rest of the positives that separated Lowe as an all-conference guard to begin with.

Experience (and production) against Louisville

Sure, it’s one game — but it’s an important game for Kentucky, and he’s got experience playing against the Cardinals. In fact, he’s seen that toothed bird on four separate occasions across two seasons at Pitt, two games apiece as a freshman and sophomore.

In year one, he averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists against Louisville in two victories.

• 1/6: 9 points (3-6 FG, 2-3 3PT), six rebounds, three assists, one turnover (83-70 W)
• 2/17: 10 points (3-12 FG, 2-5 3PT), five assists, four rebounds, two steals (86-59 W)

In year two, he averaged 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest against the Cardinals, unfortunately in two losses.

• 1/11: 24 points (5-15 FG, 13-13 FT), six assists, two rebounds, one steal and four turnovers (82-78 L)
• 3/1: 16 points (6-18 FG, 3-3 FT), 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, four turnovers (79-68 L)

As long as he splits the 2-2 tie with a win next season wearing blue and white.

An opportunity to get picky

The fan restlessness was real to open the weekend, especially following Yaxel Lendeborg‘s early-morning commitment to Michigan, taking a star option off the board for Kentucky. That one stung, obviously — although there is a very real chance he keeps his name in the draft as a projected first-round pick — but the Wildcats rebounded well with Lowe for the immediate PR win.

That gives UK two standout portal additions, joining Tulane transfer Kam Williams to open the offseason for Pope. They also have Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno and Acaden Lewis signed on among incoming freshmen, plus the potential returns of Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry — 10 names penciled in for the Cats going into 2025-26.

Depth took a serious hit last season with a disastrous injury situation and is something the staff will keep in mind, but at most, you’re looking to add two or three pieces to close things out. That could change with any potential outgoing transfers or surprise draft decisions — you can never be too sure these days, even if unlikely — but the core is there. That’s a gift and a curse, not because it’s difficult to close on commitments (no matter what some may tell you about Pope), but because you have to pick the right two or three out of thousands in the portal with over two weeks before it closes.

Do you make your moves now or wait to see what else becomes available at the risk of losing out on the guys out there already? How about reclass and international options down the road? It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, but you’d rather be in this position than scrambling to fill an entire roster the way Kentucky had to this time last year. Find a shot-making wing, a versatile four and a physical big, and you’re in pretty darn good shape entering 2025-26.