All signs point to a breakout season for junior point guard Jaland Lowe.
We've been hearing Lowe's name mentioned all offseason long. Denzel Aberdeen called Lowe "one of the best guards I've ever seen." Head coach Mark Pope believes Lowe is "going to take a massive jump" going into this season. ESPN's Jay Bilas shared similar thoughts, stating that "people are going to realize pretty quickly he's got some special ability." It's been hard to keep track of all the nice things people are saying about the Texas native.
And now, it's his backcourt partner's turn to send out some praise.
"If I'm being honest, I would say Jaland Lowe," Otega Oweh said Tuesday when asked by The Field of 68 crew who has impressed him the most among new players this offseason. "He's a point guard. He's gonna go out there and lead the team. Last year, he had things that he wanted to improve on, which was defense, his toughness, but he's come here and he's just dominated in terms of his physicality, being aggressive. He's winning one-on-one drills -- although I haven't been out there to take that away from him.
"He's really surprised me. I feel like he's really gonna do a good job leading this team."
But what exactly does a breakout season look like for someone like Lowe? After all, he was a Third Team All-ACC performer as a true sophomore a season ago after posting per-game averages of 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds. But the 6-foot-2 floor general shot just 37.6 percent from the field and 26.6 percent from deep while playing for a below-average Pitt team. At Kentucky, the talent surrounding him should only make life easier, but by all accounts, he's also taking the necessary steps to improve his overall game along the way.
"This is the best point guard in college basketball that not enough people truly know about," Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports recently wrote.
Lowe is equally talented at scoring the ball as he is at passing. Pope wants to capitalize on those skills by running the opposing team into the ground. Oweh will be Kentucky's best player, and the likely SEC Preseason Player of the Year choice, but the 'Cats might just go as far as Lowe can lead them.
"I have confidence in myself, my coaches have an immense confidence in myself, my teammates do as well," Lowe said on The Field of 68. "I believe it's gonna only grow."