Want to know more about the new UK basketball players? Here’s the guy to ask
All involved in bringing Jaland Lowe to Lexington are expecting his game to speak volumes once the Kentucky basketball team hits the court next season.
From Mark Pope to the UK coaching staff to Lowe and his inner circle, the consensus is clear that this should be the place for him to thrive.
Kentucky fans will be hearing plenty out of Lowe off the court, too.
The 20-year-old Texan’s first interview session with local reporters took place last week, and — after nearly 30 minutes of holding court in the Memorial Coliseum media room — those asking the questions exchanged knowing glances.
Anyone who needs a quote over the next several months will know where to find one.
Once it became clear that the 6-foot-3 junior was such a talker, it was only natural that those doing the asking would see what the Wildcats’ projected point guard for next season thought about his new teammates.
Lowe was a willing participant in that back and forth.
First order of business: Denzel Aberdeen, the veteran transfer from Florida fresh off a national championship run with the Gators and Lowe’s new partner in the Kentucky backcourt.
“So I didn’t like Zel at first, actually. I hated Zel,” said Lowe, who drew some quizzical looks with that opener. “Because I played him my freshman year (when he was) at Florida, and that really was my wake-up call to college basketball. I went out there and I tried to give him a little bump. … He did not move at all, and I went backward. And then they beat us — I think it ended up being like 30.”
It was actually only a 15-point defeat — the Gators’ beating Lowe’s Pitt Panthers 86-71 — and neither player was on the court for very long, but Aberdeen clearly left an impression on the young freshman who, two years later, has only a deeper appreciation for his new teammate.
“Since that day, I knew Zel was a strong guard who could do everything,” Lowe said. “I mean, he’s just got to have the platform to allow that. He’s got more than enough tools to do everything that’s required. He can shoot the ball at a very high level. He can make plays. His defense is amazing. So, I mean, he’s got all the tools that’s needed.”
One popular projection of UK’s starting five for the 2025-26 season has Aberdeen, Lowe and fellow guard Otega Oweh all sharing the backcourt, and both Aberdeen and Oweh — who have already had their summer sitdowns with local reporters — talked up how well the two transfer guards’ games should mesh on the court.
That point of view is now unanimous.
“When you have that mutual respect for each other, it’s like, ‘OK, now we’re working with something. We can bounce (things) off each other.’ I mean, that’s been like my best friend since we’ve been up here,” Lowe said.
Lowe on the Kentucky kids
Next up, Jasper Johnson, the central Kentucky native who rocketed to five-star status as a national recruit and will be looking to make an immediate splash as a freshman guard this season.
“I love Jasper. He’s good,” Lowe said. “I mean, off the court, he’s probably the funniest person I’ve been around. I’m not gonna lie, he’s a little kid, for sure. He’s got a lot of energy. That’s amazing to have around here. So he’s been amazing. He’s a naturally gifted player. And that’s something that you can’t deny at all.
“And then seeing him come in here the first week and just have fun and just play his game and not really succumb to the other guys while we’re playing, it’s just fun to see. Because that kid’s super confident. He’s super talented. He’s going to be ready for a big year, for sure.”
Johnson, who’s listed at 6-4 but has a thin frame, has been viewed as a player who might have some initial struggles against the size and strength he’ll face on UK’s rigorous schedule.
Lowe was asked if his young teammate is strong enough to make an immediate impact.
“Definitely,” he shot back. “I mean, at any level, if you can play, you can play. You have guys that’s all different shapes and sizes. If you can hoop, you can hoop.”
Asked if there was anyone on this team that had surprised Lowe in early practices, there was no hesitation.
“Trent Noah,” he said. “Trent Noah might be the best shooter I’ve ever seen. And I played with a really good shooter in Blake Hinson. But Trent Noah … he can shoot the living ---- out of the ball. He can really shoot. I love TN.”
Hinson made 110 3-pointers at a 42.1% clip during Lowe’s freshman year at Pitt. That’s pretty high praise for the sophomore from Harlan County.
More thoughts on UK teammates
Lowe — a 6-foot-3 guard with two years of eligibility left — started bragging a couple of minutes later about beating Oweh’s team in an early scrimmage. He was looking forward to a rematch, hoping for the same teams. “Otega hears it from me all the time,” he said.
Joining Lowe for that victory were Collin Chandler and Mouhamed Dioubate, with a couple of bigs that rotated in and out. Does that mean Dioubate, an Alabama transfer who has been primarily viewed as a power forward, was playing the 3 spot?
“Mo’s wherever,” Lowe said with a smile, before going into more detail on his game.
“He’s a dog, man. Really strong. He has a really good feel for the game. Just being in the right spots, knowing where everybody’s supposed to be at. Super athletic. Might be one of the best rebounders that I’ve been around — just off sheer will, not even anything else. Just the fact that he’s going to beat you because of his mindset.”
Another incoming player that should bring plenty of physicality to the Cats’ frontcourt is Jayden Quaintance, who’s projected as a lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft and blocked 2.6 shots per game as a 17-year-old freshman at Arizona State last season before being sidelined in February with a torn ACL.
Quaintance — a 6-10 post player with serious athleticism — has been watching UK’s summer practices from the sidelines as he continues to recover from that knee injury, though he’s hoping to be back on the court by the early portion of the 2025-26 season.
“Man, he’s been talking crazy to us,” Lowe said. “He’s like, ‘Y’all lucky. I’m gonna be out here blocking y’all’s shots, too.’ He’s like, ‘Y’all know I was leading the country in blocks before I got hurt.’ We were like, ‘Yeah, we’ll see when you get out here. You’re gonna have to prove it to us.’
“But, nah, how he is as a person — how naturally he is just in his body — it’s like, ‘Yeah, that guy’s gonna be really special.’ Hands are huge. Length. You know, just a big body. So that’s going to be amazing when he comes back. I’m ready to play one on one against him.”
One under-the-radar freshman on this roster will be Braydon Hawthorne, a 6-8, 175-pound late-bloomer from West Virginia who rocketed to No. 33 nationally in the 247Sports rankings for the 2025 recruiting class.
Not much is expected from Hawthorne during the 2025-26 season, but he’s projected to be an impact player in the not-too-distant future. And he, too, has made an early impression.
“He’s got really good length. He’s got really good size. He’s got a good feel for the game. He can score. He can shoot,” Lowe said. “I think the first impression of him was like … you might see his frame and think that he’s a little too skinny, but he makes up more with just his length. And just being able to contest shots, block shots at a very high level.”
Lowe’s interview session ended with the breaking news that EA Sports was planning to bring back its college basketball video game franchise. Though it’s not slated to return until 2028, Lowe was asked what rating — on a scale that tops out at 99 — he thinks he would deserve on such a game. He thought about it.
“What would y’all put O at?” he asked, referencing Oweh.
Someone spoke up with a 95 rating for UK’s leading scorer from last season.
“I’m gonna say a 91,” Lowe said of himself. “If y’all put O at a 95. … I got all the tools to be good.”
A display of self confidence, with even more reverence reserved for a teammate.
Anyone in that room surely got the impression that Lowe would have been delighted to sit around all day talking about his new teammates, their goals for the upcoming season, and UK basketball, in general, but that was the end of this interview session. There will be many more to come.
For the time being, Lowe is still getting to know the guys he’ll be sharing the court with for the next several months. And that process has been a blast for a new point guard looking to lead.
“You’re just going into a new system with some new guys, you just got to figure out how everybody acts, what they’re like, what makes them grind their gears and what makes them go. And I feel like that’s just fun. I feel like, as a point guard, that’s what you got to do — at any level. And yeah, I mean, that’s just been fun. Just figuring out what everybody likes, what they like to do on and off the court. That’s my job, and I’m here for it.”
