This writer thinks Jaland Lowe will have a breakout year under Mark Pope

[jeffky]

Jaland Lowe primed for a breakout season under Mark Pope

Lowe, like Otega Oweh, could see career-best efficiency numbers.

www.aseaofblue.com

A little sunshine pumping ,I know , but I do like the way the writer explains why he thinks jaland will have a breakout year .

 

[YardCat]

I’m hoping that we have a couple players make significant strides of improvement this year. I think Garrison and Chandler will make major improvements add in Lowe and Aberdeen and we will have a good chance to be special.

 

[UKSanders]

Because of perspective/expectations from many people looking at his shooting percentages and assists/TOs in 2024-2025, I think it's easy to think he will have a breakout season.

This is why I think that...
Per game averages:
FR year: ~27 minutes, Points = 9.6, 3pt attempts = 88, 3pt makes = 31, 3pt % = 35%, Ast = 109, TO = 46
SO year: ~36 minutes, Points = 16.8, 3pt attempts = 154, 3pt makes = 41, 3pt % = 27%, Ast = 169, TO = 92

So, in almost 10 minutes less per game, he made only 10 less 3s on the season, and he committed half the TOs.

With the depth of this roster as it stands today, I would expect his numbers to look more like his FR year. He probably takes more 3s, but due to better ball movement, hopefully he is in better positions to take those. In addition, he won't have to be SO ball dominant, which should result in less TOs. If that happens, I could see a JR season something like:

JR year: ~28 minutes, Points = ~12, 3pt attempts = 120 ish, 3pt makes = low 40s, 3pt % = ~33%, Ast = 125, TO = 50ish

If that happens, it wouldn't be a huge jump in production, but he will be giving this team EXACTLY what it needs, and I think many people will see it as a "breakout" season.

 

[TTTblue24]

The only sunshine pumping I do NOT pay attention to is the football stuff, the blue koolaid there has been wrong and way off so many times. I don’t know how many times I’ve read someone is “unblockable” or “can’t cover this guy” then absolute zero production but for basketball is different. I do think Lowe will put up much better numbers now that he will be playing with better players.

 

[thebluestripes]

Wonder how many times they'll play get low in rupp this year

 

[BlueSince92]

I wouldn’t call Sea of Blue writing. It was great till sometime around 2012/13. Since then it’s basically just TikTok without the pictures.

 

[Fox2monk]

Jaland Lowe primed for a breakout season under Mark Pope

Lowe, like Otega Oweh, could see career-best efficiency numbers.

www.aseaofblue.com

A little sunshine pumping ,I know , but I do like the way the writer explains why he thinks jaland will have a breakout year .

The more I look into Lowe the more I love the pickup. His shooting scared me at first, but I didn’t know he had a broken finger the whole season either. Explains a lot. He has a ton of talent and I think he will be a monster here.

 

[ukcatz12]

Every player will have a breakout year. This will be the best basketball team in college basketball history. 40-0 for sure. Get your tattoo appointments booked now before the tattoo parlors get too busy.

 

[Smashcat]

I like him. Quick and can turn on a dime.

 

[Fox2monk]

Every player will have a breakout year. This will be the best basketball team in college basketball history. 40-0 for sure. Get your tattoo appointments booked now before the tattoo parlors get too busy.

Had mine circa 2015.

 

[Digger-Cat]

Pope is about to show everyone just how good he is at recognizing talent. Every player improved last season, even through injuries and now he has a far better and tougher roster coming in.
I expect the shooting percentages to go up for several of these guys and I expect Lowe and Oweh will be special this year.
I had my concerns several times last season, but Pope kept pushing buttons and accomplished things that blew me away. The biggest thing was how he and his staff managed to take our defensive efficiency from 112th to the 60's with multiple key players injured, including our best on-ball defender.

 

[Louis_Skunt]

The only sunshine pumping I do NOT pay attention to is the football stuff, the blue koolaid there has been wrong and way off so many times. I don’t know how many times I’ve read someone is “unblockable” or “can’t cover this guy” then absolute zero production but for basketball is different. I do think Lowe will put up much better numbers now that he will be playing with better players.

Agree. Every time I hear someone give me a reason the football team is going to be great I wonder if they have some sort of mental handicap.

 

[Smashcat]

Evan likes Lowe too.

 

[BBNinSC]

I predicted Oweh would be our best player before last season when most were expecting Robinson to be that guy. I believe Kam Williams will end up as the surprise leader this coming year.

 

[know1]

It's not sunshine pumping. We're basking in sunshine these days as opposed to the dark days of Cal.

 

[Catluv]

I predicted Oweh would be our best player before last season when most were expecting Robinson to be that guy. I believe Kam Williams will end up as the surprise leader this coming year.

Robinson was kinda being that guy until he went down.

 

[UKSanders]

Every player will have a breakout year. This will be the best basketball team in college basketball history. 40-0 for sure. Get your tattoo appointments booked now before the tattoo parlors get too busy.

I've heard unrealistically optimistic expectations show up among some fans from time to time... not Cat fans, of course, as we are always a really grounded fanbase.

That's why I clarified my post as to what "breakout" season means. I think for those looking only at Lowe's shooting %s this past season, he really could have a breakout year JUST by returning to a production similar to his freshman year.

The one guy whose shooting I really WANT to be optimistic about but I have some serious reservations is Diabate. I think he will be a great pickup regardless b/c he should add so much to the team otherwise, but even though he shot a good 3pt % on low volume, his FT% is terrible, and his shot is just ugly...

That's precisely why I'm more optimistic about Lowe... GREAT FT shooter at almost 90% over 2 seasons, and he shot better as a freshman when he wasn't having to do as much AND didn't have a broken finger on his shooting hand.

 

[blue cincy]

When Pope starts fiddling around with this group of guys, he will find the right tweaks for most of the guys. I expect Oweh will average about 15 to 16 ppg again, I expect we have a big that averages close to a double double. I expect a guy like Aberdeen, Williams, Lowe type of guy to be a big PPG guy along with Oweh. MD or AJ will be a great help in so many areas. Pope will have all the options open to him during the summer workouts to start figuring out what they want to do on defense and who and how to run the offense this year. Man the pick up games will be wild this summer.

 

[runt#69]

I predicted Oweh would be our best player before last season when most were expecting Robinson to be that guy. I believe Kam Williams will end up as the surprise leader this coming year.

I think that as well. Williams and Lowe (imo) have a really great opportunity to shine and show how well they fit into the system here. Lowe is really going to shine having great players on the court with him, and take some of the intense focus on him other teams gameplan for.

Williams is going to be the beneficiary of having everyone spread out and he has such a smooth stroke.... Brea types are very rare, but Kam has a more complete game and from what I can tell, his shot is very confident and solid. Looks like he's gonna make it every time. I like his looks defensively as well.

postscript - JJ is also going to benefit from playing in the system and style of play. I think we will get major point production from all three. Those three together on next years team look to be an improvement over Butler, Brea and Almonor. But I think they will have a similar impact on games and scoring points.

 

[UKSanders]

I think that as well. Williams and Lowe (imo) have a really great opportunity to shine and show how well they fit into the system here. Lowe is really going to shine having great players on the court with him, and take some of the intense focus on him other teams gameplan for.

Williams is going to be the beneficiary of having everyone spread out and he has such a smooth stroke.... Brea types are very rare, but Kam has a more complete game and from what I can tell, his shot is very confident and solid. Looks like he's gonna make it every time. I like his looks defensively as well.

postscript - JJ is also going to benefit from playing in the system and style of play. I think we will get major point production from all three. Those three together on next years team look to be an improvement over Butler, Brea and Almonor. But I think they will have a similar impact on games and scoring points.

I want to hope that Williams has a more complete offensive game than Brea, but I think many underestimate Brea's ballhandling and midrange game that really started showing the latter portion of the season.

My guess is Williams is longer and more athletic, so he should be a significantly better defender. However, I can't tell from videos if his ballhandling is good enough to really create for himself. Where he should be better is as a finisher in the lane off of cuts and/or lobs.

 

[ganner918]

Look at last year - Butler and Oweh unquestionably had their best seasons of their career while Robinson and Williams kept comparable numbers on increased efficiency. Among our starters, only Carr (playing with a bad back) failed to improve on their past performance. Not a stretch to think multiple incoming guys will have great years.

 

[BlueSince92]

The more I look into Lowe the more I love the pickup. His shooting scared me at first, but I didn’t know he had a broken finger the whole season either. Explains a lot. He has a ton of talent and I think he will be a monster here.

If he really had a broken finger the whole season man I want him here just for that reason alone!

Coz I don’t think a finger can even stay broken that long on its own. He must have had to keep rebreaking it just for the love of basketball.

That’s some Commando sh** right there.

 

[know1]

Turns out he had a broken finger most of last season. That might have had something to do with his 3pt% dip.

 

[NerlensCat]

Robinson was kinda being that guy until he went down.

The biggest problem with Robinson was that people had to push him into that role. He was not a natural leader. Yes, he had potential. But, he will never reach his full potential because his personality will not allow him. This is why you heard Pope and others push Lamont as our heart and soul. That should have been Robinson.

So, we will see. I hope we have more Lamont and Ortega personalities vs. Robinson and Williams(especially the first 20 games). You don’t want to have to push a kid. If anything, you want to have to pull the rains a little(Garrison). From a distance Aberdeen and Diabate seem to fit that mold. I hope Lowe and Williams do also. If so, we should be really good.

 

[Catluv]

The biggest problem with Robinson was that people had to push him into that role. He was not a natural leader. Yes, he had potential. But, he will never reach his full potential because his personality will not allow him. This is why you heard Pope and others push Lamont as our heart and soul. That should have been Robinson.

So, we will see. I hope we have more Lamont and Ortega personalities vs. Robinson and Williams(especially the first 20 games). You don’t want to have to push a kid. If anything, you want to have to pull the rains a little(Garrison). From a distance Aberdeen and Diabate seem to fit that mold. I hope Lowe and Williams do also. If so, we should be really good.

I was addressing Robinson being our best player. I felt he was stringing together some nice games. I don’t think he was a rah rah type leader. Seemed like a respectful kinda a guy. Just a good teammate.

 

[NerlensCat]

I was addressing Robinson being our best player. I felt he was stringing together some nice games. I don’t think he was a rah rah type leader. Seemed like a respectful kinda a guy. Just a good teammate.

That is my point. As good as he was, he could have been so much more, if he would just embrace the role. He needs more emotion. He has a lot more to give. It is unfortunate that he got hurt.