Unfortunately for Cats fans, point guards in Lexington and shoulder injuries have went hand in hand the last 2 years. After initially being injured in the Blue-White game and then reinjured in practice, Jaland Lowe has been on the mend. For weeks, the Jaland Lowe injury update has been the most frustrating storyline in Lexington. What could this team look like with the point guard recruited to control it?
‘Day-to-day forever’ no more as Jaland Lowe changes Kentucky basketball's ceiling
“Day-to-day” turned into “day-to-day forever,” as Pope jokingly put it, while Kentucky tried to survive without its best downhill creator. Every game, the same questions: Is he close? Is he playing? What does the shoulder actually feel like?
Saturday against Indiana, there were finally answers.
Lowe was back to being who he is for this team.
In the first big win of the season, the transfer guard played 24 minutes, scored 13 points, and handed out 2 assists and grabbed five boards. The numbers were nice. The way he changed the rhythm of the offense was the real story.
Even on a rusty 5-of-13 shooting night, Lowe consistently got two feet in the paint, collapsed the defense, and opened up drives and kick-outs that just haven’t been there in his absence. And the pace he injected into the game was much needed.
‘My shoulder feels amazing’
The best news of the night came after the buzzer.
“My shoulder feels amazing. It’s the best it can be, that’s all I can really say,” Lowe said. “Feels the best it can be right now. I’m not going to go out there unless I do feel confident.”
Pope shared a small moment from the bench that summed up Lowe’s importance, not just as a scorer, but as a guy his teammates believe in. After Lowe missed an uncontested layup, he came to the timeout visibly frustrated.
“He was sitting to my left and his four teammates sitting in the chairs turned to him and said… ‘Shoot it man, let’s go, let’s go,’” Pope said. “And then of course, you know, the first shot he makes after missing all of the shots… is the step-back 15 footer.”
That kind of trust is gold for a point guard. Lowe’s return gives Kentucky a late-clock creator, a transition push guy, and a player who can calm them down when the ball sticks.
As he gets his legs and timing fully back, he doesn’t just raise Kentucky’s floor, he completely changes their ceiling.