Kenny Lowe
Class of 1999
School Gary West HS, IN
Height and Weight 6'4 185lbs
Position PG/2G
97-98 Ratings #283 (HS) ==> #127 (HS)
98-99 Ratings #192 (HS)
Academically Eligible Yes
Status Signed Purdue
AAU team Spiece South 17 (1998)
Player Summary ·
Player News ·
Game Stats ·
Season Stats ·
Honors ·
IHSAA Schedule
Kenny Lowe is a combo guard from Gary West High that is a real key
to the success of the team. Part of the current Gary West squad that also
went undefeated in junior high, Lowe's abilities are increasing the more
he gets to function in the offense. His junior varsity and sophomore years had
him at the point, dishing and setting up his teammates. With talented big
guys such as all-state candidate Vincent Hart, the idea was to get it
to the scorers and take the open shot when available. During his sophomore
year and into his junior year, Westside coach Ike Brown told him to
score more...and he did. Brown has been happy with the guard's development,
going from a "pass first, shoot second" mentality to being a threat on
offense full time. Lowe is the team's best freethrow shooter, and according to
his coach, is also one of the team's hardest working players in practice.
He is also credited with understanding the offense well and making good
decisions. He is a decent slasher and does a good job of handling the ball.
He is working on overcoming turnover problems when faced with pressure
defense. Brown further describes him as a true point guard, but a player
that can play the 1, 2, and 3 positions well in high school. His unselfishness
has made him a team favorite not only with the big guys, but also with his
fellow guards.
Lowe played junior varsity his first year, then went on to average
14.6 points and 5.1 assists per game as a varsity sophomore. His junior year
saw his scoring average rise to 17.8 points per game, while his assists fell
to a 1.1 average. Three of Westside's five losses in 97-98 came at the hands
of Chicago teams. In two of those games, Lowe lead all scorers with 26 and
28 points as the defense doubled and tripled down on Vincent Hart, limiting
him at 9 and 13 points. In the third game against Chicago King, the defensive
pressure focused on Lowe, limiting him to 14 points while Hart exploded for
24. The inside-outside duo hopes to continue the relationship in college,
as they are both looking at the same schools.
Lowe scored a career-high 34 points on 1/10/99 against Plainfield.
Lowe verbally committed to Purdue on September 25, 1998.
7-25-99...The Indiana All-Star team took third place in last week's
fourth annual Wendy's Classic. In the third place game against Michigan,
which is in rebroadcast on Chicago SportsChannel, Indiana maintained a near
double-digit lead for most of the game and ran off with a 122-89 victory.
Kenny Lowe finished with five points, four rebounds and three assists. Lowe
played the role of primary ballhandler for most of the game when Jason
Gardner was on the bench. The defense did not apply tough fullcourt
pressure, allowing Lowe little trouble bringing the ball up the court.
While not an ideal point guard, he does have a good handle on the ball,
a great first step that sends him like a bolt of lightning to the basket,
and is always a threat to dish a perfect pass on a hard drive. Lowe should
be able to fill in at the point if Purdue needs his help, but will be more
effective as a 2-guard, slashing to the basket from the wing.
6-26-99...The Indiana Boys All-Star team completed the series sweep
tonight against the Kentucky All-Stars, 94-91. Unofficially, I have Lowe with
9 points and a ton of great defense on Kentucky's Mr. Basketball Rick Jones.
The shots I can remember came from a baseline floater over three defenders,
a 12-foot baseline jumper, and five of six freethrows. But more impressive
was his defense against Kentucky's Rick Jones who will play for Kevin
Stallings next year at Vandy. Jones is a kid who scores 34 points in the
state championship game this year, but was held to only five point until
Lowe went out with three minutes remaining. Wouldn't you know it, with Lowe
on the bench, Jones would come back in the game and hit a clutch three with
14 seconds remaining to pull Kentucky within one. Two freethrows from Jason
Gardner sealed the victory and the sweep. Stats will be added tomorrow
below. We will also be posting any scouting reports fans may have...
"I joined the game six minutes before the end of the first half and thought
the game was over. No defense at all. Very scrappy play, with Indiana in a
big hole. Didn't see Lowe until the second half. Showed nice legs when he
hit a jumper from the baseline. When you play with Jason Gardner you can't
expect to get many good looks when he looks to score more than pass. Lowe
excelled on defense on the Kentucky Mr Basketball. He was much stronger.
Followed him everywhere on the court. Completely disrupting his game. The
only open look the kid had was a 30 footer, which he took and badly missed.
Played at the two most of the game, but also collapsed into the post quite
often. Very versatile. Was hoping to see him bring the ball up the floor
more to see if he could fill in at point for Purdue next year. After seeing
him slash to the basket, I think I'd rather see Lewis at the point and Lowe
at the two. Great sweep. Very ugly first half. Great second half."
(scouting report by Jay)
"I checked out Lowe for the first time tonight in the all-star game. He's
a two-guard for sure. His first step is one of the best and defenders can't
smother him because he will blow right past them. A definite baseline
player in this game. Sharp from the line and very athletic. Heard he is
going into engineering and finished 17th in his class. I hope the staff
finds more players like him." (scouting report by anonymous)
6-25-99...The Indiana Senior Stars swept the 1999 series with the Junior
All-Stars on Wednesday with a 130-117 victory. Nearly perfect from the floor,
Lowe finished with 14 points, third on the team. (stats below)
6-21-99...The Boys and Girls Senior All-Star teams defeated their
Kentucky rivals on Saturday in the last game to be held in Market Square
Arena. The Indiana Boys beat Kentucky 92-72 and stretched a 17 point halftime
lead into the final 20 point margin. Lowe and Jason Gardner shared two
team high honors. While the two players had 5 assists each, they both also
committed six turnovers a piece. Lowe shot 2 of 5 for 4 points, plus added
three rebounds and one steal. The Senior All-Stars next travel to
Connersville this Wednesday to scrimmage against the Junior All-Star team,
then travel to Lexington to again face the Kentucky All-Star team.
6-16-99...The Senior All-Stars defeated the Junior All-Stars 127-113
Wednesday night at Center Grove HS. In 17 minutes, Lowe finished with 8
points shooting 67-percent from the floor and added 6 boards, 5 assists
and 1 steal. He missed his only perimeter attempt, but was more effective
in this game slashing to the basket and dishing off to the forwards. He's
still got that great elevation that allows him to get his jumper off and go
inside and rebound. The Seniors will next face the Kentucky All-Stars this
Saturday in Market Square Arena.
The Indianapolis Star has an article talking a little about Lowe's
academics and his play for the Senior All-Stars.
5-11-99...USA TODAY named Lowe to their All-USA honorable mention
team.
4-19-99...Lowe has been named an Indiana All-Star by the Indianapolis
Star. The guard heavey team should feature a three-guard lineup, which
should allow Lowe to really showcase his talents. For a look at the roster,
go to the "Honor Teams" page. Also on Sunday, Lowe
scored 11 points for the North in the Reebok Classic All-Star game. The North
defeated the South 118-107.
4-11-99...So you lose a game by a wide margin, your opponent scores
110 points on you, and you can only manage 1 point in the first half.
Having a bad day? That's how it was for Kenny Lowe in this weekend's
all-star game pitting the Indiana Stars against the Illinois Stars.
But to Kenny's credit, he came back to score 20 points in the second
half to win the MVP award. As we have heard this before from Lowe's
AAU coach Bob Widmeyer, Lowe is capable at any time to go on a run
and score 20 points, which is what he showed against Illinois. In
talking with Widmeyer today, he believes Lowe is talented enough to
be an option at point guard at Purdue next year.
4-3-99...The Times has named Lowe first team All-Area. Kenny's
friend and summer teammate Ricky Wright had this to say about Lowe's
skills..."I've played with Kenny a lot over the past few summers, so I
know his game. He is by far the best guard in the Region. Everybody says
he can drive, but I was really impressed by his perimeter shot. Me and
him were recruited by the same schools and there was one constant, they
all loved his defense. All of them. And in the summer, he never backed
down from anyone in the country." Lowe will also play in the Reebok
North/South All-Star Classic in Connersville on April 18th. Click this link
for info on the game and a look at the rosters.
3-12-99...Lowe looked to be headed to a new career high after the
first quarter of the Regional matchup with #5 Merrillville, scoring 10
points by the beginning of the second quarter of play. Merrillville turned
up the pressure on Lowe, holding him to 2 of 9 shooting for the rest of the
game. Lowe's only two baskets in the final three quarters came from the
perimeter, while his first five came from inside the arc. But it wasn't the
pressure on Lowe that led to Merrilville's 70-60 victory over West Side, but
rather their aggressive interior defense on 6'9 Vincent Hart and 6'9 Patrick
Danley. The two imposing post players finished with a combined 19 points.
Merrillville's tallest player is 6'6 Jake Argenta, who finished with 13 points.
The game wasn't actually lost until late in the fourth quarter, when
Merrillville could taste the victory and West Side shot itself in the foot
with mental mistakes. A player to watch is Merrillville sophomore Lonnie
Randolph, who is an impressive ballhandler, dribbling his way around and
through West's pressure defense.
3-6-99...Kenny Lowe led all scorers with 17 as #7 Gary West coasted
to a 17 point victory over East Chicago, 59-42. Ricky Wright led East
Chicago with 11 points. Gary West will travel to the Michigan City Regionals
next Friday to face #5 Merrillville. Having fun with the Sagarins again,
Gary West (93.41) is favored over Merrillville (88.78) by 4.5 points.
Merrillville has the best season record of the two (20-3), but is the underdog
due to the easier schedule (rated the 87th toughest in the state compared to
Gary West having the 33rd toughest).
3-5-99...Gary West defeated Wirt 68-54 to set up a Sectional final
showdown with East Chicago Central. Indiana born basketball stats guru
Jeff Sagarin has Gary West (15-4) at #3 in the state among all programs
and East Chicago (15-7) at #33 (rating through games on or before 3/4/99).
According to Sagarin's numbers, Gary West is favored by 8 points. Kenny Lowe
led all scorers with 20 points in the win over Wirt.
1-23-99...Lowe continues to shine for Gary West, but this time in an
overtime loss to Illinois' Providence St. Mel in the Hoops In The Loop
tournament, 77-71. Lowe led all scorers with 25, in a game that witnessed
a staggering 58 fouls and 52 turnovers. Westside was in a position to win
it, but killed themsleves with blown layups and missed freethrows.
12-19-98...The first round matchups for the Chicago Public Schools
Athletic Association boys basketball tournament Dec. 21-23 at the UIC Pavilion
have been announced.
9:00A Memphis Melrose vs Dunbar
10:30A Philadelphia Simon Gratz vs Vocational
12:00P Providence-St. Mel vs Marshall
1:30P Asbury Park (N.J.) vs Westinghouse
4:15P Memphis Raleigh Egypt vs Simeon
5:45P Gary Westside vs Steinmetz
7:15P Thornton vs Young
9:00P Minneapolis Patrick Henry vs King
12-12-98...It wasn't Lowe in all the foul trouble in this game, rather
teammate Vincent Hart. Milwaukee Vincent, ranked 24th in the nation, used
smothering half court defense and packed the middle, holding Westside to
29 percent shooting for the evening in a 54-41 loss in Chicago. Lowe led
Westside in points (15), boards (5), and assists (3).
12-11-98...It was a trapping, matchup, halfcourt zone that spelled
disaster for Chesterton as they fell to Gary West 62-34. The Westside
Cougars scored 25 of the games final 28 points with Vincent Hart leading
all scorers with 18 points. The Cougars held Buscher to 12 points, placing
both Buscher and Westside's Kenny Lowe in foul trouble. Westside next travels to
Chicago to face the #24 team in the nation, Milwaukee Vincent.
10-19-98...Lowe visited Mackey for Purdue's annual Mackey Magic exhibition
this past weekend. This wasn't the first for Lowe, who said he had visited for
the exhibition several times before.
9-25-98...Kenny isn't waiting for November. Kenny Lowe became the first
half of Purdue's 1999-2000 recruiting class on Thursday when he verballed
to the Boilers. Purdue's academic reputation for engineering was a positive for
Lowe, as was the fact Purdue will have several faces familiar to Lowe on the
team (Gary McQuay, Greg McQuay, Jamaal Davis and Carson Cunningham). Lowe chose
Purdue over Michigan, Minnesota, Navy, Wichita State and Princeton. For more
details on the announcement, go to this article from the TimesOnline.
9-22-98...According to Coach Boyd at Gary West, Keady set up a home
visit with Kenny that went very well. As of last Thursday, Lowe had yet to
make an official visit to the Purdue campus, but plans to do so. Purdue is
said to be the favorite at the moment over Michigan (also had a home visit)
and Minnesota. Lowe is an excellent student and plans on studying
engineering in college. Boyd says Lowe will likely wait until November to
make a decision.
7-1-98...Peegs from the IU Basketball Recruiting Site attended the
Indiana AAU State Tournament last weekend, and has this scouting report on
Kenny Lowe.
6-24-98...A couple of new names have come up in relation to Lowe.
Butler University has reportedly offered, and Lowe will be taking an
unofficial visit to Michigan in the next week. According to the Michigan
recruiting page, Michigan is also after Vincent Hart, which could make
Michigan even more appealing to Lowe.
4-30-98...Lowe will be playing in Mackey Arena this weekend
along with his AAU team "Spiece North". Spiece's early games are on FRI 6:00P
Court 2 (IAF), FRI 9:00P Court 10 (Co-Rec) and SAT 2:00P Court 3 (IAF). The
interesting matchup comes during the Saturday game, when Spiece takes
on No Excuses, a team featuring Jason Gardner, Brody Boyd, John Stewart,
Gavin Groninger, Krunti Hester and other top Indiana talent.
4-17-98...Kenny Lowe joins teammate Vincent Hart on The Times "All-
Region Team" this year. Hammond's Jermaine Boyette (signed with Weber State)
had this to say: "He was the man on their team. He was the one. Down low,
he was real physical. He was very strong, but real, real quick. And if you
jumped out to defend the outside shot, he'd blow right past you. He did it
to me. He did it to a lot of people. I like his game. Very explosive. I
like his game."
4-8-98...Rumors floated around last summer about a possible future
package deal between three players that wished to play together in college...
Vincent Hart, Kenny Lowe and Austin Parkinson. In conversation with Gary
West head coach Ike Brown, the Hart and Lowe package is being pushed at the
moment. "It is something they are seriously considering," said Brown. Other
schools getting looks from Hart and Lowe are DePaul, Seton Hall and
Providence. Rumors have DePaul already offering both players.
3-3-98...Gary West enters the 1998 IHSAA tournament as the #6 team
according to end of the season Sagarin calculations. Westside (92.61) has a
first round match against the #7 team East Chicago (91.25) at East Chicago.
But with a Sagarin home court advantage figured in, East Chicago is favored
by 2 points. In the second game will be the winner of the Gary Roosevelt
(69.41) / Hammond (82.16) game. The East Chicago sectional rates as the
state's 12th toughest sectional, but pits two top 10 teams in the first
game.
West finished the regular season ranked #6 according to the Sagarin
rating system, which figures in opponent strength, schedule strength, and
margin of victory. West had the state's 89th toughest schedule, finishing
1-1 against top 25 teams and 2-1 against teams rated among the top 64.
Westside defeated East Chicago earlier this season, giving EC their only
loss. Westside's three losses to Illinois high school teams are not figured
into the Sagarin ratings.
Sagarin ratings are furnished by Jeff Sagarin at the Indiana High
School Basketball Ratings Page on his website. Refer to this site to
figure out how to approximate winners and margin of victory.
12-29-97...A look at the team from the TimesOnline.
12-15-97...Kenny Lowe may not get much national attention from the
recruiting rags, but he is appreciated by his teammates and coach. "Kenneth
is an excellent penetrator and ball-handler," said Vincent Hart. "He's got
everything. He's got the total package, even though he won't admit it."
Cougars coach Ike Brown likes his work ethic, even in practice. "When he ties
his shoes and comes to practice, he goes all out everyday."
12-14-97...Fellow backcourt teammate Jeffrey Sims gets a lot of credit
from Lowe for helping Lowe improve his game since joining the varsity. "Kenny
does a real good job of handling the ball and going to the hole," said Sims.
"He handles the pressure a lot and handles it pretty well. Sometimes, when
defenses double-up on him, I take over and vice versa. It's sort of a
brotherly kind of thing. We stay after practice a lot -- about three times
a week until 8 p.m. -- doing drills together and working on our games."
9-26-97...The rumor of the summer related to Purdue focuses in on a
handful of Purdue prospects thinking of playing together. It is an
interesting combination. Lowe has been flirting with the idea that he
might want to go to college with 6'8 Gary West teammate Vincent Hart. But
Lowe became good friends with another Purdue recruit over the summer,
Austin Parkinson. Now all three are entertaining the idea of playing
together in college. Hart became impressed with the guard tandem when
their Spiece squad defeated Hart's team this summer. With both Lowe and
Hart rising juniors and Austin a rising sophomore, it will be interesting
to see if this package deal works out.
Hart may have competition for a Purdue spot from 6'6 post player
Ricky Wright from East Chicago Central. Wright played on the Spiece team
this summer with Lowe and Parkinson, and performed well enough to lead
one former Boiler player to predict he will be unstoppable if he grows
a couple more inches.
DATE MIN FG FGA FT FTA 3P 3PA RB A B S PTS
--------------------------------------------------
07-21-99 4 3 5 Won 122- Michigan AS 89
06-23-99 7 8 0 0 0 0 14 Won 130- Junior AS 117
06-19-99 2 5 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 1 4 Won 92- Kentucky AS 72
06-16-99 17 4 6 0 0 0 1 6 5 0 1 8 Won 127- Junior AS 113
04-18-99 1 11 Won 118- South AS 107
03-12-99 7 13 2 2 2 18 Lost 60- #5 Merrillville 70
03-05-99 17 Won 59- East Chicago 42
03-04-99 5 10 8 9 2 2 2 20 Won 68- Gary Wirt 54
03-02-99 3 6 6 1 13 Won 62- Gary Wallace 52
01-23-99 8 8 8 3 25 Lost 71- Providence St Mel 77
01-10-99 4 34 Lost 86- Plainfield 87
12-18-98 6 3 4 1 16 Won 94- Chicago Manley 69
12-12-98 4 15 3 4 4 9 5 3 15 Lost 41- #24 M Vincent 54
12-04-98 11 12 21 Won vs Gary Wallace
05-02-98 2 5 0 9 Lost 66- CMH 76ers 73
05-02-98 3 5 2 13 Won 70- No Excuses 60
05-01-98 2 1 1 6 Won 84- Salt Lake 74
03-06-98 6 15 7 8 2 21 Lost 62- Hammond 72
01-19-98 3 8 11 14 Lost 59- Chicago King 67
01-16-98 5 10 0 0 3 5 13 Won 66- Wirt 47
12-28-97 16 Lost 58- #2 Whitney Young 68
12-27-97 2 0 0 4 Won 64- Wirt 38
12-20-97 8 4 4 3 23 Won 78- Mann 52
12-19-97 9 15 6 7 1 26 Won 78- Chicago Manley 69
12-16-97 15 Won 63- Mann 43
12-05-97 4 5 6 13 Won 88- Wallace 41
11-25-97 28 Lost 71- Chi Farragut 78
03-15-97 7 11 0 0 5 19 Lost 78- Noblesville 92
03-08-97 6 9 0 0 1 13 Won 68- Hammond 61
03-08-97 2 5 0 2 4 Won 57- Merrillville 56
02-28-97 0 6 6 5 6 Won 74- Andrean 69 OT
02-11-97 5 2 2 2 14 Won 69- Hammond 66
02-07-97 3 4 1 4 7 Won 76- Lew Wallace 60
02-02-97 3 4 4 10 Won 81- Evansville Day 73
01-31-97 4 0 1 1 9 Lost 62- EC Central 67
12-06-96 6 10 6 6 2 20 Won 81- Lew Wallace 65
Season thru PPG FG% FT% 3P% RPG APG SPG BPG RECORD RANK
------------------------------------------------------------------
98-99 season 15.7 3.1 2.6 2.3 16-5 #7 (IN)
01-27-99 18.3 .540 .860 .590 3.8 3.2 2.8 10-3 #4 (IN)
01-12-99 18.6 .548 .857 .590 8-2 #7 (IN)
97-98 season 17.8 1.8 1.1 2.1 17-5 #8 (IN)
96-97 season 14.6 5.1 17-6 #10 (IN)
98-99 season All-State First Team (Hoosier Basketball)
All-Area First Team (NW Times)
All-State Second Team (AP)
Senior All-Star selection
Indiana Top40 Workout selection
All-USA Honorable Mention (USA TODAY)
97-98 season Preseason All-State Fourth Team (Hoosier Basketball)
Underclassman All-State Honorable Mention (IBCA)
All-Region First Team (The Times)
All-State High Honorable Mention (Bloomington Herald)
Date Day Time Opponent
---- --- ---- --------------------
11/24/98 TUE W Chicago Farragut
12/04/98 FRI W @ Gary Wallace
12/11/98 FRI W @ Chesterton
12/12/98 SAT L Milwaukee Vincent (@ Loyola Univ)
12/15/98 TUE W Gary Mann
12/18/98 FRI W Chicago Manley
12/28/98 MON W Gary West Tourney
12/29/98 TUE W Gary West Tourney
01/10/99 SAT L @ Plainfield
01/12/99 TUE W Gary Roosevelt
01/15/99 FRI W @ Gary Wirt
01/23/99 SAT L vs Providence St Mel, IL
Hoops In The Loop Tourney
01/26/99 TUE W Hammond Morton
01/29/99 FRI L @ EC Central
02/05/99 FRI W Gary Wallace
02/26/99 FRI W @ Gary Mann
03/02/99 TUE W Sectional vs Gary Wallace (@ Gary West)
03/04/99 THR W Sectional vs Gary Wirt (@ Gary West)
03/05/99 FRI W Sectional Final vs East Chicago
03/12/99 FRI L Regional vs #5 Merrillville (@ Michigan City)
* To confirm game time call Gary West HS *
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