Pitt Panthers G invited to CP3 Elite Camp

PITTSBURGH – Pitt Panthers sophomore guard Jaland Lowe had a good freshman season and recently received an invitation to the Chris Paul Elite Camp in Las Vegas.

The camp began on June 30, so Lowe is currently there and will stay until July 3. 19-year-old veteran guard Chris Paul is running the camp under his namesake and will teach Lowe how to succeed not only in college, but also in the NBA.

Paul is a 12-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA First Team selection, five-time All-NBA Second Team selection, two-time All-NBA Third Team selection, seven-time All-NBA Defensive First Team selection, two-time All-NBA Defensive Second Team selection, and was Rookie of the Year in 2005-06. He has also been the NBA’s leading assist player five times and the leading steal player six times in his career.

Lowe joins 15 other guards in camp, including former Pitt guard Dior Johnson, who never played for the program before the 2022-23 season after legal issues and then left the team before last season.

There are five other ACC guards in camp, including reigning ACC Player of the Year senior RJ Davis and ACC All-Rookie Team sophomore Elliot Cadeau of North Carolina, Tulane transfer Sion James and junior Tyrese Proctor of Duke, and All-ACC First Team selection Hunter Salis of Wake Forest.

The eight other guards include Dedan Thomas Jr. of UNLV, Kam Jones of Marquette, Dink Pate of the G-League Ignite, Tony Perkins of Missouri, Trent Perry of UCLA, Kanaan Carlyle of Indiana, Silas Demary Jr. of Georgia and Xavian Lee of Princeton.

Additionally, 15 high school guards will participate in the camp, including two Pitt targets from the class of 2025.

Participating in the camp will be four-star Isaiah Denis of Davidson Day School in Davidson, North Carolina, and five-star Meleek Thomas, who played for nearby Lincoln Park before transferring to Overtime Elite in Atlanta.

Lowe came to Pitt as a four-star guard in the class of 2023 and played for Fort Bend Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, just outside of Houston.

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

He came off the bench throughout the non-conference period, but started the final 19 games of the season, including all but the first three ACC games.

Lowe scored his season-high 20 points twice: in a home loss to Syracuse on January 16, he made 8 of 15 field goals, 3 of 4 free throws and a three-pointer. In the road win against NC State on February 7, he made 7 of 12 goals, 5 of 5 free throws and a three-pointer.

He recorded a double-double this season in a home win over Florida State on March 5. He scored 17 points, making 7 of 12 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer and two free throws, and dished out 10 assists.

In two more great games, he scored 12 points and had nine assists in a blowout win at Boston College on March 2 and had 18 points and six assists in a home win over Virginia Tech on February 24.

His biggest highlight of the season was an 80-76 win over then-7th-ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor on Jan. 20. With less than 50 seconds left, he hit a 3-pointer right into the face of Duke forward Kyle Filipowski to give Pitt a four-point lead while silencing the crowd with a finger on his lips.

Lowe worked primarily as a point guard, helping distribute passes to players such as guard Bub Carrington, Freshman Team All-ACC winner, guard Ishmael Leggett, ACC Sixth Man of the Year, and First Team All-ACC forward Blake Hinson.

Lowe and Leggett will man the Panthers’ backcourt next season, and if they improve on their solid seasons, they can expect an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

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