“I hated him at first” Jaland Lowe reflects on early rivalry with Denzel Aberdeen as Kentucky’s new backcourt takes shape

The Kentucky Wildcats have several incoming transfers, including Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen. Lowe played for the Pittsburgh Panthers this past season, emerging as a star scorer in his sophomore year. Aberdeen has been a member of the Florida Gators for three seasons, taking a big step forward this past year.

While players are often unfamiliar with each other when they come from different teams, that is not the case with Lowe and Aberdeen. The new Wildcats teammates have played against each other, and in a conversation with reporters on Monday, Lowe admitted that he did not like Aberdeen before they became teammates.

"I didn’t like [Aberdeen] at first," Lowe said. "Actually, I hated him because I played on him freshman year (when he was) at Florida. That really was my wake up call to college basketball. I went out there and I tried to give him a little bump when he came in the game. He did not move at all, and I went backwards. Then they beat us, I think we ended up losing by like 30."

Jaland Lowe is selling himself a little short in those comments. While Pittsburgh lost 86-71 to Florida in the 2023-24 matchup, Lowe was a freshman and only played five minutes in the game. Regardless, Lowe continued his comments, complimenting his new teammate.

"Since that day, I knew [Aberdeen] was a strong guard who could do everything," Lowe said. "He’s got to have the platform to allow that, and he’s got more than enough tools to do everything that’s required. He can, he can shoot the ball at a very high level. He can make plays from deep. His defense is amazing, so he has all of the tools."

Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen are now teammates on the Kentucky Wildcats

While Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen were previously rivals, they are now coming together as teammates on the Kentucky Wildcats. Lowe is entering his junior season after averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game in his sophomore season with the Panthers.

Conversely, Aberdeen is entering his senior year after averaging 7.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 1.4 apg for the Gators last season.

Both players are joining a Wildcats season that is entering its second season with Mark Pope as the coach. In his first season leading the team, Pope helped the Wildcats reach the Sweet 16 in March Madness, the team's best run since 2019.