Is it finally time for Jaland Lowe’s Kentucky basketball debut?
The Wildcats’ starting point guard missed both of his team’s exhibition games and remained sidelined for UK’s 77-51 victory over Nicholls in the regular-season opener Tuesday night.
Next up is Valparaiso — 7 p.m. EST Friday in Rupp Arena — and this will be the Cats’ final tuneup before the rivalry game at Louisville next week.
So, will this be the spot for Lowe to get his first taste of outside competition as a Kentucky Wildcat?
“I think so,” Pope said at his news conference Thursday. “He’ll have a full practice today. He’s been really good the last couple days, and so I hope so.”
Lowe injured his right (non-shooting) shoulder during the Blue-White Game on Oct. 17 and has been sidelined from game action ever since. The UK point guard has returned to practice, however, and Pope implied after the victory over Nicholls on Tuesday night that Lowe was close to playing in that game.
During his postgame radio interview, Pope teased a possible Lowe debut against Valparaiso.
“I think there’s a chance we might have a J-Lowe sighting Friday. We’ll see!” he said. “I’m not guaranteeing. It’s going to depend on the next couple of days in practice. But if he has any say in it — he was pretty upset with me that we didn’t throw him in the deal today. So I’m hopeful that we’ll have a J-Lowe sighting. We’ll see.”
Lowe is expected to be an integral part of the Wildcats’ lineup this season, and he received third-team All-SEC honors last month despite being a newcomer to the league. Otega Oweh — the SEC preseason player of the year — was the only other UK player to be selected for one of the All-SEC teams.
As a sophomore at Pittsburgh last season, Lowe averaged 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Collin Chandler, a sophomore, started the season opener at the point guard spot in Lowe’s absence, though senior Denzel Aberdeen filled that role to begin the second half. Aberdeen finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds, a career-high six assists and zero turnovers, helping to ignite UK’s second-half scoring attack in the win over Nicholls.
Chandler also flourished after moving to an off-ball role. He scored a career-high 15 points, adding four assists and shooting 4 for 7 from 3-point range. Chandler also threw down a tomahawk dunk over a Nicholls defender, and Pope acknowledged after the game that the UK returnee was much more comfortable at the 2 spot than the point guard position.
“I’ll do whatever I’m asked to do,” Chandler said. “Playing the 2, I’ve gotten a lot more reps (there), and so playing the 1 is just something that I’m going to continue to get better at and continue to learn.”
Valparaiso defeated Eastern Illinois 66-63 in its season opener Tuesday night. The UK-Valpo game Friday will stream on SEC Network+.
Trent Noah injury update
Pope also provided an update on sophomore forward Trent Noah, who left Kentucky’s victory over Nicholls with an ankle injury late in the first half.
“I expect he’s gonna be back soon,” Pope said. “I don’t think we’ll practice him today. I don’t know if he’ll be available tomorrow. I’m guessing maybe he — it’s probably a tossup whether he will be or not. I’m probably leaning to saving him and just trying to get him healthy.”
Noah departed with 6:54 left in the first half and went straight to the locker room. He returned to the court for halftime warmups and was moving well in conditioning drills as the Cats prepared for the second half.
Pope said after the game that Noah told head athletic trainer Brandon Wells that he was feeling “no pain” in the ankle after halftime, to which Pope playfully called the player “a liar”. He said later that Noah was one of the toughest guys on the team but explained there was no way he would put him back into that game, which the Wildcats led by more than 20 points before the first TV timeout of the second half.
Noah made his first college start against Nicholls, going scoreless with two rebounds and one steal in nine minutes. He also started both of Kentucky’s exhibition games due to the lineup changes related to Lowe’s injury.
Kentucky guard Jaland Lowe watches his team during an exhibition game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. Ryan C. Hermens rhermens@herald-leader.com
The latest on Jayden Quaintance’s progress
Sophomore transfer Jayden Quaintance, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from surgery to repair the ACL he tore last season at Arizona state, has a “really, really important strength test,” Pope said, in about three weeks.
That test will compare Quaintance’s strength to players his size, weight and mobility and compare the strength of his injured leg “in all different forms” to his healthy leg, Pope said, against “a bechmark of where he was when he first got here.”
Quaintance is “moving on the court really well,” Pope said, and is making progress toward a return. The 6-foot-10 Quaintance, who’s widely regarded as Kentucky’s best NBA draft prospect, averaged 9.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a freshman at Arizona State.
“He’s unbelievable,” Pope said. “He’s been increasingly ahead of schedule, and he’s now jumping in on some 5-on-0 stuff with us on the floor. He’s just been cleared to do that. So he’s racing up and down the floor a little bit, doing stuff with no contact. He’s on his way.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 12:12 PM.
Ben Roberts
Lexington Herald-Leader
Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006.
Support my work with a digital subscription
