Kentucky basketball has a passing problem. You can phrase it however you want; Mark Pope likes to say MP4T(making plays for teammates). My coach used to tell me to hit the open man, or I'd be on the bench. I'm sure you heard that too. Whatever you call it, this Kentucky team does not like to pass the basketball, and that was on full display with the 13 assist, 13 turnover performance against Georgia.
They love isolation ball, they love driving to the lane. That could be a good thing, but not with this team; they struggle to finish at the rim, hanging right around 55 percent. That's pretty bad.
Now, some of that is shot selection, that's completely true. They drive and throw up needless layups, but there are times when guys are standing there wide open. Take a look at the video below:
Malachi Moreno is a a very willing and able passer with his back to the basket. He does a good job of not dribbling on the catch and first surveying the floor. Nice cross court pass here.
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) November 5, 2025
Denzel Aberdeen penetrates, plays off of two feet, Jasper Johnson relocates. BANG!!! pic.twitter.com/gxJmq8ltns
Yes, it leads to a Jasper Johnson 3, but look at how late that pass is. Aberdeen's first thought is to shot, so only when that is cut off does he then look to find the open man. Compare that to this video:
Because when Tonie Morgan gets two feet into the paint and your defense collapses onto her, her playmaking really comes alive
— Joshua (@pointmadejosh) February 17, 2026
She can find the open person quickly, whether it be spraying it out to the 3PT-line or dumping it off to the post, like here pic.twitter.com/bFDdYyuWk7 https://t.co/1NhG6kJzYU
Tonie Morgan knows she is going to pass to the open player before she gets the ball. That kind of passing sets your teammates up for success. That is what Kentucky is missing, and why the Jaland Lowe injury is so devastating to this team.
Jaland Lowe is missed more than Jayden Quaintance
When Jaland Lowe went down in the Blue-White game, the entire fanbase gasped. They had seen what a point guard-less offense looked like when Lamont Butler was hurt the year prior. And after Lowe was fully shut down, the realization that they would now have to play Denzel Aberdeen at the point set in.
I say have to, not because Denzel is a bad player. Far from it, he is a really good role player as an off-ball guard. But as a point guard, he calls his own number far too many times. And that creates resentment, even if the entire team won't admit it. None of them likes to pass to each other; you can tell by the way they just don't do it.
That is why Jaland Lowe is missed more than Jayden Quaintance, and it's not particularly close. To show you just how bad this team is at moving the ball, let's look at who is leading the team in assists.
Denzel Aberdeen leads Kentucky in assists per game this season at 3.2 assists per game. That is the lowest number since 2020-2021, when Davion Mintz led the team with 3.1 assists per game. Do you remember what that team's record was? 9-16. The next time it was as low as this year?
2012-2013.
That was the year Kentucky was knocked out by Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT. It was Julius Mays with 2.9 assists per game that season who led the team.
That is not company you want to keep if you plan on doing something in March.
So, what do you do about it? Can you take a team that doesn't like to pass and make them enjoy it? Unfortunately, you can't. Without Lowe, there may not be a solution unless one of these guys really changes how they have been playing.
If this team is going to get anywhere close to their ceiling, they are going to have to do something they have struggled with all year long: pass the ball.