Kentucky Coach Explains How Jaland Lowe Will be Used at UK

According to an interview with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Kentucky coach Mark Pope has laid out a plan for his new guard Jaland Lowe.

Lowe spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Pitt, before entering the transfer portal this spring with a “Do Not Contact” tag and eventually committing to Kentucky.

How will Kentucky use Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe at PG?

Mark Pope wants to hyperspeed his game. pic.twitter.com/1r4HmQ4YcW

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 1, 2025

“I’m excited to get him here and hyperspeed his game,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope told Rothstein. “We’re going to really unleash him and push him to play with as much pace as he possibly can, and he’s going to be, he’s just so athletic and he’s got such a herky-jerky nature to his game where he’s like an elite-level tailback that can cut. His cuts, it can be a 270-degree cut on a dime, cut, change direction. He proved he can 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. I think he had a real presence on the ball. Was almost a 3.0 turnover percentage guy. He’s got a complete package.”

Kentucky Is Different! Was a dream come true to be on campus this past weekend knowing I can call this place home. The culture and fanbase is one of the best in the WORLD!!! All eyes on number 9️⃣ #BBN

— @JalandLowe (@jalandlowe) April 28, 2025

Lowe, a third-team All-ACC member, played two seasons at Pitt. This year, he averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game for Pitt. Lowe is a Missouri City, Texas native who stands at 6-foot-3. The former top-100 recruit started 19 games as a rookie, averaging 26.5 minutes per game and scoring 9.6 points per game. Then, in a bigger role as a sophomore, Lowe played 35.5 minutes per game and averaged 16.8 points per contest.

“He’s also got a great leadership ability,” Pope told Rothstein. “Having him here on campus it was fun, because you have these new guys on campus. You’re out to dinner and he was the guy that was instigating a lot of 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.”

Follow Rothstein’s excellent coverage here.