Jaland Lowe's Family Connection with Jeff Capel Led to Pitt

A family connection to Jeff Capel helped make top-100 guard Jaland Lowe a Pitt Panther.

PITTSBURGH -- The highest-rated recruit signed to the Pitt Panthers' 2023 class grew up a long way from the program, the school and its home city. Jaland Lowe, a four-star guard who signed with the Panthers in November, is a native of Houston, Texas, focused on the local team - the Houston Cougars - and didn't take in much other college basketball from outside his state. 

But Lowe had a connection to Pitt long before he ever knew it. He said in an appearance on the Loyal Sons Show podcast that his father, Marland, a successful high school coach in the Houston area, knew head coach Jeff Capel prior to when he took this job in Pittsburgh. 

Capel became a resource for the Lowe family during Jaland's middle school days. He was playing in a tournament out in North Carolina and in between games, Capel showed Lowe and his father around the campus at Duke. The two reconnected this past summer, when Capel traveled to see Lowe play in AAU tournaments. 

Capel was obviously impressed while watching Lowe dominate the Nike EYBL circuit and earn First-Team All-Peach Jam honors last summer and kept in constant contact with the rising senior point guard through the beginning of the fall. Lowe eventually got on campus in September for an official visit.

Lowe echoed something Capel had referenced often - that it's important for Pitt to get recruits on campus so they can see how Pittsburgh might not fit the idea of the city that lives in their head. 

"I didn’t know Pittsburgh, the city in general," Lowe said. "It definitely was a surprise for me a kid out here in Houston. I didn’t have too much of a thought of what Pennsylvania in general."

He said he enjoyed the visit and learned a lot about the city and the program while in town. Lowe ended up committing in October and signing with Pitt in November. 

Lowe was back on campus earlier this month to see the Panthers take on Clemson in what was a battle for first place in the ACC. Pitt lost by one but Lowe said he enjoyed taking in the environment, hanging out with fellow 2023 commits Marlon Barnes and Carlton Carrington and getting a first-hand look at how they handle gameday. 

"The atmosphere, the crowd was great," Lowe said. "Even though it was a tough loss for sure, just seeing what I could play in with that type of environment, it was great to watch.”

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