Mark Pope said Otega Oweh was ready to become the “top defensive player in the country” as a senior — but that’s to be expected from a returning All-SEC talent and the expected Preseason SEC Player of the Year. Pittsburgh transfer Jaland Lowe is the bigger wildcard, someone Kentucky needs to be elite as the […]
Mark Pope said Otega Oweh was ready to become the “top defensive player in the country” as a senior — but that’s to be expected from a returning All-SEC talent and the expected Preseason SEC Player of the Year.
Pittsburgh transfer Jaland Lowe is the bigger wildcard, someone Kentucky needs to be elite as the starting point guard in 2025-26. Fortunately, those returns are overwhelmingly positive, too. Would you believe it if I told you he led the Wildcats in three-point shooting this summer?
You don’t need to believe me, just believe Pope.
“He’s a lightning-quick, get wherever he wants on the court, leader — vocal leader,” he said. “… He’s an elite-level playmaker on ball screens — I mean, he can fling the ball everywhere on the court, make every pass. He was our leading three-point field goal percentage shooter in five-on-five competition this summer — just right under 42 percent.”
Check and check, your 1A and 1B stars for Kentucky in Pope’s second season as head coach.
And when you’re the co-stars for a preseason top-10 team, odds are pretty good you’re among the best individual talents in the sport. That’s how Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports sees it, singling out Oweh and Lowe among “college basketball’s best players” — a list of “top stars, breakout picks and transfers primed to erupt.”
Breaking it down by position, Oweh was listed as the second-best “true wing” in the country, behind only No. 1 recruit and BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa.
2. Otega Oweh, Kentucky
“Oweh is just a dawg,” Trotter wrote. “Oweh takes tough defensive assignments every night, and has turned himself into one of the premier transition scorers in college basketball. Oweh is a freight train going downhill, and he hammered 47 dunks. Not many wings can match that number.”
As for Lowe, he came in at fifth overall in the “initiator point guard” category with only Purdue’s Braden Smith (No. 1), Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz (No. 2), UCLA’s Donovan Dent (No. 3) and Houston’s Milos Uzan (No. 4) ahead.
Like we saw with Lamont Butler last season, Lowe is expected to get the Coach Pope bump in his first year as a Wildcat.
5. Jaland Lowe, Kentucky
“Other initiator point guards had better seasons than Lowe last year, but this is a bet on Mark Pope doing what Mark Pope does with lead guards,” he wrote. “Otega Oweh and Lamont Butler posted the best offensive seasons of their careers under Pope’s watchful eye, and Lowe should be up next to hit the jetpack joy ride. Lowe’s talent is undeniable, both as a scorer and a playmaker. The lefty, dynamic floor general can crease defenses with slashing drives in a flash.
“With a much-improved shot diet at Kentucky, Lowe should go vroom-vroom.”
The only real snub for Kentucky comes with an asterisk, you could say, knowing Jayden Quaintance — a likely top-five pick in next June’s draft — will miss some time recovering from a torn ACL. He belongs at or near the top of the “true 5” category, but I’ll hear the argument for holding off due to injury concerns.
I will not hear that argument when he returns to live game action.
Who else is missing, BBN? The impact SEC transfers, Denzel Aberdeen and Mo Dioubate? Kam Williams as a 3&D sharpshooter? Andrija Jelavic’s upside as an international unknown? Could either of the top-30 rookies make a case in Jasper Johnson or Malachi Moreno? Any returners, such as Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler or Trent Noah?
For now, we’ll take two of the top players in the sport.
Check out CBS Sports’ full list here.
Category: General Sports
