From Houston Hoops to the Steel City: Jaland Lowe and Cam Corhen Team Up Once Again

Pitt guard Jaland Lowe stood out from the moment he was a young high-school ballplayer in the Houston, Texas area.

Lowe attended Thurgood Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, and competed for the high-school team as well as one of the area’s top AAU programs, Houston Hoops, on the Nike circuit. As a sophomore in his prep career, Lowe competed with the program’s 16u team for several months before the team eventually decided to move him up to play with the 17u squad. It was then that he first took the floor with big Cam Corhen — a highly-touted forward from Dallas.

“Man, he was really good,” Lowe told Pittsburgh Sports Now about Corhen. “He was a high-motor guy. He finished well around the rim, he could shoot the ball. He was one of the most underrated players in the country at the time to me. I think at the time, in high school, I could be wrong, but I think he was ranked in the 70s, high 70s or somewhere around there. To me, he was easily top 50. Around that time, Cam, we had this other big Zuby Ejiofor (plays for Saint John’s now). Those two were really good. We could get the ball to Cam, and he’d go round off five straight for you if you needed it. He was really skilled, really good.”

Lowe (number 11) and Corhen (behind him), courtesy of Lowe family.

Corhen, the son of former Georgia Bulldogs basketball player Richard Corhen, began his prep career with John Paul II High School in Plano, Texas. Before his senior season of high-school ball, he decided to transfer to national powerhouse Sunrise Christian in Wichita, Kansas. There, he played alongside some of the best players in the nation — including Gradey Dick (Kansas/NBA), Mark Mitchell (Duke), and Scotty Middleton (Ohio State). That year, Corhen and his team knocked off No. 1 Montverde — a team led by one-time Pitt commit (and now L.A. Laker) Jalen Hood-Schifino, as well as Dariq Whitehead (Duke) and Dillon Mitchell (Texas).

The four-star prospect eventually decided to play for Leonard Hamilton at Florida State, and made an impact right away. Starting in the Seminoles’ first game of their 2022 Canadian Exhibition Tour, Corhen posted a ten-point, seven-rebound stat line in a win. Then, as the regular season arrived, Corhen grew into a bigger role against the toughest of competition throughout ACC play. He started for the ‘Noles in his third-career collegiate game, and after bouncing in and out of the starting five for a bit, he then started the final 18 games of his rookie year. Corhen led the team in offensive rebounds with 51, and improved his averages dramatically from the non-conference slate to the conference slate. At the end of the season, Corhen wrapped up his first year of college ball averaging 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

This past year, Corhen started the first game of his sophomore campaign for the Seminoles, posting ten points in a win over Kennesaw State. After he began the season with four games of at least ten points, Corhen injured his toe against No. 18 Colorado, sidelining him for one month. He missed six games due to the injury, but then returned in late December. Then, he continued his rise as an enforcer for the Seminoles by posting ten games of 10+ points and seven games with at least five rebounds throughout the rest of the season. One of those games — one in which he reached both of those landmarks — was his most impressive. That game was in Pittsburgh against Lowe and the Panthers.

“Before the game, I was just hoping that out of all people, out of everybody on that Florida State team, I was like, oh man, out of all games, don’t let Cam be the one to go off this game because I know him, that’s my guy,” Lowe said. “He did, so while watching it all, I was just like, I’ve seen it before, I’m not that surprised.”

In a season-high 32 minutes, Corhen took control of the paint. He hit eight of his 12 field goals and nine of his ten free throws. He grabbed four offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds. Corhen also added an assist, a block, and a steal in the effort.

“He did pretty well against us, he was pretty dominant,” Lowe continued. “I remember that it was just hard to get a grasp and stop him on both ends. When we were on the offensive end and they were on defense, if he would switch out onto us, it was hard to get around Cam because he’s so agile and he uses his length really well. He doesn’t move like an average big man, he moves a lot quicker. That game was just like, I’m glad he’s doing great, but I would love to have this guy on our team for sure, and now that we’ve got him, I’m super excited.”

Corhen wrapped up his sophomore season averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in a smaller role for the Seminoles than his first year. He shot 63% from the field, went 24 for 31 on put-back attempts, and hit 21 of his 26 attempts in transition, per Synergy. Corhen, in limited minutes, showed that he can be an elite big in this league. For Lowe, a guy who has witnessed Corhen’s rise for years now, he is ecstatic to get the chance to share the floor with his fellow Texan once again.

“Our games will work so well together just because you can give him the ball in different spots and he can make a play as well,” Lowe said about Corhen. “Pick and roll will be amazing. Him being such a great lob catcher, great finisher around the rim. We can give the ball to him in the post and let him go to work. He’s just a great personality, he’s a guy you want on your team. He’s going to play hard on both ends of the floor at all times. I don’t know what there is not to like about Cam coming here. Everybody should be ecstatic and just ready to see him play next year because he’s really good. He’s really, really good.”