Don’t be fooled by Gavin Lowe’s innocent-looking charm, he is cutthroat on the basketball court.
He may stand a shade under 6 feet, but his competitiveness and intensity are Jordan and Kobe-esque, and trying to keep up over four quarters is exhausting. He’s a nightmare guard offensively as he can beat pretty much anybody off the dribble and finish in traffic among the trees. Defensively, he’s relentless, and his Olympus coaches must occasionally remind him not to try to steal the ball every possession.
He’ll politely say hello to opponents pregame, and then mercilessly run them in circles for 32 minutes with one goal in mind — winning.
A lifetime of trying to keep up with his older brothers, two years of playing alongside college-level guards and an unmatched work ethic when the bright lights are off, they all combined into a perfect storm for the junior Lowe as he led Olympus to a second straight state championship this season.
“He’s a joy to coach. He’s a guy who gets his teammates to buy in, because when you’re the hardest worker and you’re the best player, it’s easy to follow,” said Olympus coach Matt Barnes.
For his efforts in leading Olympus to a state championship, which included scoring a career-high 31 points in the quarterfinals — and then eclipsing it with 35 points in the championship — Lowe has been named the Deseret News 2025 Mr. Basketball recipient in the 39th year of the prestigious honor.
Olympus began the season ranked third in the 5A preseason rankings, which in most respects was a compliment to the program considering that Lowe was the only player with any returning varsity experience from last year’s winning team.
With only Lowe’s 9.7 ppg returning, he still felt slighted by the No. 3 ranking and set out to prove everyone wrong, even confidently telling coach Barnes that the Titans were going to repeat.
“That’s just me having the confidence in us,” said Lowe, who was true to his word in averaging 22.0 points in leading Olympus to a 24-3 record and a 5A title.
In addition to his points, he also averaged 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals. He always wanted to guard opponent’s top players too, and insisted on guarding Timpview’s Dean Rueckert in the semifinals — which he did from the jump.
“It’s been unreal these past three years at Olympus, just the amount of progression I feel like I’ve had, because my teammates, my coaches, and going up against Jordan (Barnes) and Dutch (DowDell), that was extremely helpful. Having my older brothers, I’ve just had a lot of people that have that pushed me to succeed, but also showed me how to win,” said Lowe.
And that’s what it’s all about to Lowe, winning.
Elite playmaker
Lowe worked hard this past offseason to improve his shot so if teams sagged off him along the perimeter he could knock down 3-pointers — which he did at a decent 31%. During games, Lowe works tirelessly to beat players off the dribble — whether it’s 1-on-1 or with the aid of ball screens — all with the goal of getting into the lane and causing havoc.
If defenses help in the lane, Lowe is comfortable kicking it to his open teammates, a price Timpview paid dearly for in the semifinals as Olympus made 14 3s. Don’t help, and Lowe’s an elite finisher at the high school level regardless of the length defending him.
Barnes said it’s a joy to watch Lowe seemingly dribble into the lane going 100 mph, but still have enough body control and touch to finish despite a 6-foot-6 defender on him.
There were hiccups along the way though in that regard.
“He had a lot of turnovers early in the season. I mean, there were games where he had four or five, six turnovers a game because he’d get over penetrating, get too far in there, you know, and then get stuck and not be able to pass it out, or he’d throw it away,” said Barnes. “The game just slowed down for him as the season went on.”
In Olympus’ three state tournament wins at the University of Utah, Lowe had 19 assists to seven tournaments in playing 94 of a possible 96 minutes. The Titans won all three games by at least 14 points.
“He’s just a confident, great leader, and just leads by example. He just kind of took these guys under his wing,” said Barnes.
Development journey
Lowe is following in the footsteps of former Olympus point guard Rylan Jones, who also won Mr. Basketball as a junior in 2018 — and repeated in 2019.
Lowe never saw Jones play in person. He grew up in Mountain Green and Park City, and didn’t move to the Olympus area until he was in eighth grade. One of his older brothers, Nathaniel, played varsity for Park City for two years from 2017 to 2019. His other older brother, Luke, was a role player on Olympus’ state championship team in 2022, when Gavin was in eighth grade.
Lowe said trying to compete with those older brothers year after year, without success, is the foundation of his competitive drive.
Watching his brother’s senior season from the stands was Lowe’s introduction to Olympus basketball. Never in his wildest imagination did he expect to see the court so quickly the very next year.
“Freshman year, three or four games into it, we said Gavin needs to play. He can guard, he can have the ball, he he’s ready to play as a freshman. So we put him in there, and he was terrific,” said Barnes.
As Lowe was getting ready to check into his very first varsity game, Lowe said there was a video that shows him wiping the bottom of his shoes like five or six times. “I was so nervous,” he recalls.
He was Olympus’ fifth-leading scorer that year as the Titans lost to eventual state champ Alta in the semifinals. The shot of confidence he received that season was invaluable for his career trajectory.
“Playing as a freshman, it really gave me the confidence to continue to grow as a player. It made me believe more in myself and want to work harder. It put me in certain situations that I feel like I wouldn’t have been in otherwise. Yeah, that also helped me grow as a player,” said Lowe.
The next step for Lowe’s progression as a player, which should open up more opportunities at the collegiate level, is his shooting. If he can improve his efficiency behind the arc and in the mid-range, he’ll be a more coveted all-around scorer.
“I’ve always believed that I’ll find a good place that I fit into, I just got to prepare myself best for that. I’ve had a lot of amazing conversations these past couple weeks, and I’m just excited for college. I know I’m not the biggest, but for me, it’s finding a place where I can fit, I’m valued, and I can show them what I can bring,” said Lowe.
With another year at Olympus to develop and terrorize defenses, a 3-peat is certainly a possibility for Olympus next year.
39 years of Deseret News Mr. Basketball recipients
- 2025 — Gavin Lowe, Olympus
- 2024 — Cooper Lewis, Lehi
- 2023 — Quentin Meza, Cyprus
- 2022 — Collin Chandler, Farmington
- 2021 — Ethan Potter, Layton
- 2020 — Dallin Hall, Fremont
- 2019 — Rylan Jones, Olympus
- 2018 — Rylan Jones, Olympus
- 2017 — Jaxon Brenchley, Ridgeline
- 2016 — Frank Jackson, Lone Peak
- 2015 — Jesse Wade, Davis
- 2014 — TJ Haws, Lone Peak
- 2013 — Nick Emery, Lone Peak
- 2012 — Jordan Loveridge, West Jordan
- 2011 — Tyrell Corbin, West
- 2010 — Kyle Collinsworth, Provo
- 2009 — Tyler Haws, Lone Peak
- 2008 — Tyler Haws, Lone Peak
- 2007 — Morgan Grim, Riverton
- 2006 — Daniel Deane, Judge Memorial
- 2005 — Jackson Emery, Lone Peak
- 2004 — Tai Wesley, Provo
- 2003 — Josh Olsen, Alta
- 2002 — Brody Van Brocklin, Davis
- 2001 — Jared Jensen, Fremont
- 2000 — Garner Meads, Brighton
- 1999 — Tim Henry, Mountain View
- 1998 — Tony Brown, Mountain Crest
- 1997 — Britton Johnsen, Murray
- 1996 — Jeff Johnsen, Murray
- 1995 — Jeff Johnsen, Murray
- 1994 — Alex Jensen, Viewmont
- 1993 — Ben Melmeth, Judge
- 1992 — JaRon Boone, Skyline
- 1991 — Justin Weidauer, Cottonwood
- 1990 — Kenneth Roberts, Bingham
- 1989 — Shawn Bradley, Emery
- 1988 — Matt Bowman, Timpview
- 1987 — Kurt Miller, Ben Lomond