Kentucky basketball head coach Mark Pope delivered an encouraging update on Jaland Lowe Monday night, balancing optimism with caution as the Wildcats prepare to enter the grind of SEC play.
During his weekly radio show, Pope said Lowe “is looking terrific” as he continues to recover from a lingering shoulder injury. While the progress has been encouraging, Pope emphasized that Kentucky remains focused on the long-term health of its star guard.
Lowe was held out of Kentucky’s Dec. 23 matchup against Bellarmine as a precautionary measure, a decision Pope said was made with the bigger picture in mind. Despite that absence, Lowe has now appeared in four straight games after previously missing five consecutive contests earlier this season.
“Jaland is looking terrific,” Pope said. “We’re just being cautious with him. For the rest of the season, we’ll probably keep him somewhat limited with full-contact reps. He’s gotten some over the last two days, though, and he’s looked really good.”
The most tense moment of Lowe’s return came Saturday against St. John’s. Just seven seconds into the game, he appeared to re-aggravate his shoulder and exited the floor, sending a brief wave of concern through Big Blue Nation. Lowe, however, returned after halftime and delivered a gutsy performance, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists in just 15 second-half minutes.
That outing followed another positive step forward in Kentucky’s win over Indiana, where Lowe began to find his rhythm. His season has been marked by stops and starts since he first injured his shoulder during the Blue-White Scrimmage. Although he returned to play in the Nov. 11 loss at Louisville, another setback during practice sidelined him for five additional games before he made his return against Gonzaga on Dec. 5.
With SEC play looming, Pope’s message was clear: Lowe is trending in the right direction, and Kentucky is determined to manage his workload carefully to ensure he’s healthy when it matters most.
