Jaland Lowe is expected to make his Kentucky debut against Valparaiso

Kentucky is expected to get their starting point guard back on Friday. After suffering a shoulder injury in the blue-white scrimmage that has held him out since, Jaland Lowe is expected to make his debut at Kentucky against Valparaiso on Friday.

According to Mark Pope, Lowe will have a full practice on Thursday after responding well the last couple of days in practice, and looks to be ready to go for Friday's matchup. "I think so," Pope said on Thursday. "He'll have a full practice today. He's been really good the last couple days, and so I hope so." This comes after Pope said after Tuesday's game that his status would depend on this week in practice, while also sounding confident in him playing.

Getting Lowe back is obviously huge for this Kentucky team, one that struggles on the offensive end without a point guard who is able to facilitate the offense. Against Nicholls, that was really put on display, as whenever Collin Chandler was at the one spot in the first half, there just wasn't a flow. But, once Denzel Aberdeen switched over and Chandler was back at his natural position, Kentucky's offense started clicking. Now, the Wildcats will have their true starting point guard back, a guy who really is the engine of this Kentucky offense.

Lowe's facilitating is a massive part in the offense's success, but the way he can blow by his defender and cause the helpside defenders to close in on him really does help open the offense and spread players out a lot more. Pope talked on Thursday about the positives that will come out of not having Lowe on the floor, and he says it has served as a huge learning opportunity for guys, especially in the long run.

"I hink short term it has an impact. I think long term, it's going to make us better, and it forces you to kind of dig under the hood and explore a bunch of things," Pope said. "Everybody's roster is always dynamic, right? It's always changing. And so the more it is, the more you get to look in and kind of tinker and figure things out and understand things better in a new way. And so I think, certainly that's exactly what I'd say. Not having (Denzel Aberdeen) and and (Jaland Lowe) forces us to kind of look at some things in different ways, which is going to help us in the long run."

Now, Kentucky has both of their one-two punch primary point guard options back, not shorthanded as they head into Friday's matchup with Valparaiso before a major clash on the road at Louisville to follow on Tuesday. The Wildcats will need to look good offensively to get a good dose of confidence before hitting the road.