Pat Kelsey and Louisville should steer clear of Kentucky’s 4-star PG transfer

Louisville basketball must attack multiple positions this offseason, including an elite guard with poise who can replace Mikel Brown Jr. Louisville will lose four guards this offseason as Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely won’t return, and Brown will likely declare for the draft.

3 early transfer portal entries Louisville basketball must target to fill glaring hole

Right now, Louisville has London Johnson and, hopefully, Adrian Wooley returning, but Cardinals fans are getting worried that Wooley might enter the Transfer Portal himself. So, with Louisville needing an elite guard who can run the show but also play some defense, fans are beginning to explore options among those who already plan to enter the portal.

Well, one popular name entered the Transfer Portal today, as Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe announced he plans to enter the portal, and the Cardinals should stay as far away as possible.

Louisville basketball should stay far away from Kentucky’s 4-star PG transfer

Last year, Brown dealt with a back injury that forced him to miss 14 games, and when it comes to Lowe, Louisville fans make it clear they don’t want to give him any attention because of his injury history and size.

Lowe transferred to Kentucky as a 4-star transfer last offseason from Pitt. He was ranked as high as No. 36 in the Transfer Portal and No. 10 among point guards last offseason, but the Pitt transfer battled a shoulder injury from the Wildcats Blue-White game that forced him to have injury problems all season.

He missed the season opener, and then played 30 minutes against Louisville, where he scored nine points on 25 percent shooting, and then suffered the same shoulder injury at a practice shortly after. He finished the season playing just nine games, where he was inconsistent for the majority of the season, but showed flashes of his 4-star potential against Alabama, scoring 21 points on 50 percent shooting.

However, this isn’t the type of guard Louisville wants or needs. The Cardinals want someone with some height who can play on-ball defense and can shoot it consistently from beyond the arc. Lowe shot 20.8 percent from downtown last season and has shot 28.9 percent from beyond the arc in his college career.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard isn’t the player that would fit Kelsey’s system, and with his injury concern from last year, it would be best for Louisville to stay away.

One guard the Cardinals are trending toward is British guard Quinn Ellis, who is 6-foot-5, 200 pounds and has high expectations, as Louisville battles Kentucky and Duke for the international star. But for now, Lowe marks as the first Wildcat to announce he will enter the portal, while Louisville has yet to hear anyone announce a decision to enter the portal.

Related: Louisville Basketball: The Cardinals’ biggest 2026 Transfer Portal needs

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