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Pitt Star Shares Connection with New Miami HC
Feb 1, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) brings the ball up court during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH — A Pitt Panthers star has an interesting connection with a new head coach in the ACC.

Miami hired Jai Lucas as their new head coach, who spent the past three years with Duke. He served as an assistant under head coach Jon Scheyer in the 2022-23 season and then as the associate head coach these past two seasons.

Lucas hails from Houston and played for Florida in the 2007-08 season, before transferring back closer to home, playing for Texas for two seasons, 2009-11.

He would play professionally in Latvia and in the G-League, before taking an assistant coaching job under head coach Shaka Smart at his alma mater, Texas, for four seasons from 2016-20.

Lucas then served under head coach John Calipari at Kentucky for two seasons, 2020-22, before landing at Duke.

Pitt sophomore guard Jaland Lowe and Lucas share a connection through John Lucas II, who is Lucas' father.

John Lucas II, starred at Maryland and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. He played professionally for 16 years, almost all in the NBA, before spending 31 seasons from 1992-2023 coaching in the NBA.

He is the godfather of Lowe and the two share a great relationship, with John Lucas II mentoring him with basketball and practicing with him this past summer.

Lowe arrived at Pitt as a Class of 2023 four-star guard who played for Fort Bend Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, just outside of Houston.

He played in all 33 games in the 2023-24 season, starting 19 of them, while averaging 26.5 minutes, scoring 9.6 points, dishing out 3.3 assists and grabbing 2.8 rebounds per game, respectively. He also shot 38.8% from the field, 35.2% from 3-point range and 85.5% from the free-throw line.

His biggest highlight of the season came in an 80-76 win against then ranked No. 7 Duke at Cameron Indoor on Jan. 20. He hit a 3-pointer right in the face of Duke forward Kyle Filipowski with less than 50 seconds left to put Pitt up four points. while shushing the crowd with a finger to his lips.

Lowe has had a solid sophomore season, as he leads the Panthers with 16.8 points, 35.4 minutes, 5.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game and fifth with 4.3 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 37.5% from the field, 26.5% from 3-point range and 87.8% from the foul line in 29 contests.

He is amongst the best in the ACC in numerous statistical categories, ranking No. 2 in free throw percentage and minutes per game, No. 4 in both steals per game, No. 5 in assists per game, No. 9 in points per game, No. 15 with a 1.7 assist/turnover ratio and No. 18 in field goal percentage.

Lowe finished with a triple-double, scoring 11 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the field, making a 3-pointer and adding two free throws, while also grabbing 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the win over VMI on Nov. 18. This is just the sixth triple-double in Pitt history.

He dropped a career-high 28 points in the overtime road win vs. Ohio State on Nov. 29 and scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half of the comeback road win vs. Virginia Tech in the ACC opener on Dec. 7.

Lowe also had a double-double in the home win vs. Sam Houston on Dec. 21, 18 points and 11 assists, and dropped 27 points, plus dished out eight assists in a comeback home win over Cal on New Year's Day.

He made all 13 shots from the foul line, scoring 24 points in the home loss to Louisville on Jan. 11. This was the fourth most makes for a Pitt player without missing in one game in program history.

Lowe still has two years of eligibility following this season.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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