Pitt basketball is coming off a fourth-place finish in the ACC last season. However, the Panthers still did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
This year, Pitt is looking to get back to the big dance, and has replenished the roster in order to do so. Now, several outlets are taking notice as we enter “preseason power rankings” season.
On Thursday, The Athletic released its summer power rankings for the conference, listing the Panthers at No. 6. Check out the full article by excellent ACC writer Brendan Marks here. Follow Marks here.
The Athletic is one of several national outlets to give recent positive remarks about rising sophomore guard Jaland Lowe, who Marks believes has the potential to become an all-conference talent.
“…He could become a bona fide all-league player, and he’s already earning buzz as a potential first-round pick. Lowe’s the ideal set-up man for Pitt’s various returners, especially [Ishmael] Leggett, the reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year who dropped 30 points in the conference semifinals.”
Lowe averaged 9.6 points and 3.3 assists per game as a rookie. However, he kicked his production up a notch once he was inserted into the starting lineup. Lowe started 19 games on the year, and in those games, he averaged the following stats: 13.1 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, 1.6 turnovers per game, 4.5 field goals per game, and 1.3 three pointers per game. He shot 40.7% from the field across those 19 games, and 40.3% from three-point range across those 19 games.
Check out our recent story on 247 Sports’ Adam Finkelstein also offering high praise for Lowe.
