The ‘overlooked’ player on this Kentucky basketball team is emerging as its early star
Looking back on the frenetic first few weeks of the Mark Pope era of Kentucky basketball, it’s understandable how the addition of Otega Oweh could have been overlooked.
Or, at least, not fully appreciated.
When Oweh — a 6-foot-4 guard with 37 career starts over two seasons at Oklahoma — first set foot in Lexington for his recruiting visit back in April, it got some attention, but Pope was still in his first full week as the Wildcats’ new head coach, making him the star attraction anywhere he went.
When Oweh committed to the Cats a couple of days after that trip, it was celebrated by Kentucky fans, but attention quickly turned to the acquisition of other new players.
UK announced the commitments of Oweh and Lamont Butler on the same Saturday in late April, and by the time the next weekend rolled around, Koby Brea, Andrew Carr, Brandon Garrison and Kerr Kriisa had all joined the program, too.
It was a lot to process, and there was little time to focus on one Wildcat before the next one emerged.
If Oweh was indeed overlooked then, there’s certainly no ignoring him now.
From basically the opening tip of Kentucky’s first exhibition game last month to the nightlong celebration that was the Wildcats’ regular season opener Monday in Rupp Arena, the 21-year-old from New Jersey has emerged as the early star of this UK team.
And he’s done it by not really trying to stand out at all.
Finding his way to Kentucky
Oweh is perfectly fine if he doesn’t get much outside attention.
He’s used to it, after all.
Coming up as a young recruit in Jersey, he was often overshadowed by the star players around him. Back then, the lack of recognition irked him. He didn’t break into the national rankings until the end of his high school career, and he thought he was better than a lot of the prospects that were ahead of him on such lists.
“I was definitely overlooked when I was younger,” Oweh said in an interview with the Herald-Leader. “I was kind of a late bloomer when it came to rankings and stuff like that. I cracked like the top 60 or something my last year of high school. So I was just always wanting to prove that I was better than what people thought I was.
“I would say that’s why I kind of play the way I do, why I have that chip on my shoulder. That’s something that always drives me, because even now, I feel like I still get overlooked.”
Oweh was No. 59 in the final class of 2022 rankings from Rivals.com and No. 91 on the final 247Sports list. To put in perspective the type of talent he came up with, the Nike league team he played on during his final summer of grassroots basketball also featured Jalen Duren, Justin Edwards and Dereck Lively II — all players who were in the conversation for the No. 1 ranking in their respective classes.
On that team, like others before it, Oweh played his part, and it led to plenty of winning, but role players often have a tough time breaking into the recruiting rankings. As time went on, Oweh cared about that specific personal accolade less and less.
“As I got older, I just started to realize — it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Like, you don’t gotta play to stand out. You just gotta make sure you’re efficient. And if you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, you’re going to stand out regardless. So that’s kind of just what I do now.”
Oweh ended up at Oklahoma, where he emerged as a starter by the end of his freshman season and averaged 11.4 points per game as a sophomore, earning the reputation as a tenacious and versatile defender in the Big 12, drawing the attention of Pope in the process.
When Pope got the Kentucky job back in April, the two had already been talking. Oweh jumped in the transfer portal after the Sooners missed the postseason for the second consecutive year, turning down an NIT bid after getting left on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Oweh had captured Pope’s attention during BYU’s first season in the Big 12, and the interest was mutual.
“I was actually interested in just his whole style of play and him as a person, but I just didn’t know if I wanted to go to BYU,” Oweh said. “So when he made the jump, it was kind of like, ‘Wow.’ I felt like it was supposed to happen.”
A day or two after Pope’s rousing introduction in Rupp Arena, he flew to Oweh’s home to meet with the player and his family. The next week, Oweh and his parents flew to Lexington, making him one of the first recruiting visitors of Pope’s tenure.
Oweh says now that he knew he was going to commit to the Cats before he even made the trip to Kentucky, but it was a memorable visit nonetheless. Pope guided Oweh and his family around Keeneland, the crowd buzzing at the sight of the new head coach.
“It was a surreal experience. … Obviously, it was still fresh for Kentucky that he had got the job. So we’re walking around and everyone was just cheering, just happy that he was there,” Oweh said. “He introduced me, and I got some applause, too. So that was definitely something I could remember — a cool moment.”
Learning from the UK coaches
Oweh didn’t go public with his commitment until a couple of days later, but he was totally bought into Pope’s outlook for the program before he left town.
“It was the vision,” he said. “And I was really interested in his whole philosophy and the way they play. I’m a downhill kind of guard and to have as much space that I would have — because obviously it’s a bunch of shooters, you have to respect it. So I was really interested in that.”
Oweh was also intrigued by the coaching staff that Pope was assembling.
Earlier that week, UK announced the hiring of Cody Fueger — the architect of Pope’s electric offense — and Jason Hart, a former NBA point guard who had most recently been the head coach of the star-studded G League Ignite program. Longtime Division I head coach Mark Fox was officially added to the staff the day before Oweh started his visit, and the hiring of longtime Baylor assistant Alvin Brooks III as Pope’s associate head coach was announced the following day.
“It was top tier — next level,” he said. “So it’s something I really wanted to be around. On top of that, the Kentucky platform. I feel like that’s something I couldn’t turn down.”
Even though John Calipari is no longer with the program, Oweh said he still views Kentucky as “the NBA team” in college, the nation’s top program to get players mentally prepared for the pros. That’s his ultimate goal, but he knows there’s work to be done to get there.
He’s already come a long way.
After each of UK’s first three games against outside competition — the two exhibitions and Monday night’s 41-point win over Wright State — Pope has had nothing but praise for Oweh.
In the exhibition opener against Kentucky Wesleyan, the junior guard scored seven points in a three-minute flurry before the first TV timeout, setting the tone in an eventual 71-point victory.
“His decision-making about when he attacked all the way to the rim and when he came to two feet was brilliant. It was actually incredible all night long,” Pope said afterward. “And first time here, first time playing this way, first time, you know, playing with these guys — for his decision-making to be so good? I was really, really proud of him.”
Six days later, Oweh tallied 15 points, six assists and three steals in the exhibition finale, a 31-point win over Minnesota State, the No. 1-ranked team in Division II. He scored UK’s first seven points in that one.
“He’s been terrific,” Pope said two days after the game. “It’s who he is. It’s why we recruited him here. I think he’s a big-time player. I got to play against him last year. I got to see him up close. … He is everything that he’s been advertised to be. He’s incredibly physical. He’s an elite-level defensive player that can cause real problems. He’s unbelievable to the rim. He’s got a terrific motor. He can really do some damage on the glass.
“He’s going to be a really important piece for this.”
And in the season opener, there he was again, scoring a team-high 21 points, going 8-for-9 from the floor, and making all three of his 3-point attempts and both of his free throws. He also had three steals in that game.
“As a player, there’s always this process about limiting your game just a little bit — just slightly — so that your game can expand massively,” Pope said Monday night. “And that process takes a ton of trust. Coach Fox has done an unbelievable job mentoring Otega. He spends a lot of time with Otega, and Otega has done an unbelievable job trusting and being receptive, and so he’s just simplified his game just a little bit in just a couple very specific areas, and he’s become a brilliant decision-maker.
“And tonight he was incredible defensively. He shot the ball really well. He was great downhill. He’s pretty, pretty good in every single facet.”
Oweh credits Pope’s system and the coaching staff’s tutelage for his offensive explosion. He certainly had his moments on that end at Oklahoma, but he’s found more freedom of movement in Kentucky’s spaced-out attack, while fine-tuning his own approach with the ball in his hands.
“We always have shooters on the floor, so you have to obviously pay attention to them and just be aware,” Oweh said. “So that just opens up the lanes. And then on top of that, I feel he just kind of unlocks the confidence in everybody, because he tells you to shoot. Doesn’t matter if you air ball, or if you hit the side of the backboard, if you’re open, shoot it. So I would say that’s different, in terms of just him always being confident.”
Oweh is 5-for-6 on 3-pointers and 22-for-26 from the field in his first three games against outside competition as a Wildcat, and those who watched him at Oklahoma will certainly see a more comfortable and confident finisher at the rim this season.
That aspect of the game has been a major emphasis for Oweh, who mentioned ball-handling and that decision-making that Pope spoke of as key focus points for improvement over the past few months.
“That’s something we’ve been working on this whole summer,” he said. “I get downhill very well, and I get to the paint very well, so just when I get there — the decision I have to make, that’s something that we’ve been working on.”
Working with this Kentucky staff, Oweh has learned that he doesn’t need to always go for “the home run play” when he gets to the bucket. He also made a jump in his 3-point shooting at Oklahoma — from only four attempts his entire freshman season to shooting 20-for-53 (37.7%) as a sophomore — but his comfort level on the perimeter is increasing, and Pope’s system should allow him to take even more shots from deep this season.
UK center Amari Williams has been observing that growth since offseason practice began.
“He’s evolved the most in his shooting,” Williams said. “Him being able to go out there and knock down shots and be as aggressive as he is downhill is hard for anyone to stop in the country. … When he does that, it helps the team a lot, and it’s something you’re going to see a lot for the rest of the season.”
And if he can continue to hit 3-pointers — and keep defenses honest on the perimeter — what could that mean?
“It just opens up everything,” Williams said. “At that point, there’s nothing I feel like he can’t do. If he can shoot, go downhill — and he causes havoc on defense — he’s just a complete, all-around player.”
Plans for Pope’s first season
For all of his offensive gains over the past few months, Oweh’s calling card is still his defense.
The origin of that excellence surely started when he was just a kid.
Oweh’s family success in sports is well-documented. His oldest brother, Odafe Oweh, is four years Otega’s senior and a defensive end with the Baltimore Ravens, a former first-round NFL draft pick. Another older brother, Irekefe Kaylen Oweh, is a defensive back at Monmouth and was previously a walk-on with the Penn State basketball team.
As the youngest of the trio, Otega was always playing up in his own house, eager to go toe to toe with his siblings in basketball, football, baseball or whatever the competition of the day might be. To do that, the kid brother felt he had to bring a little extra “edge” to the game. And that tenacity is on full display when he’s playing defense.
“I enjoy stopping people,” Oweh said. “Like, when they can’t score, I enjoy that. On top of that, I use that as opportunities to score. You know, they say defense creates offense. So I look at it both ways. I enjoy taking the best matchup and then holding them below their average. I enjoy being disruptive, getting turnovers, causing turnovers and just scoring on the other end.”
There were lots of spirited battles growing up. While his older brothers are all-in on football now, there was a time not too long ago when all three Owehs played basketball more often. Odafe switched to the gridiron full time in high school. Irekefe made the jump in college.
For Otega, hoops always came first.
He smiled as he reminisced about shooting for hours as a kid on the goal outside his home — “It wasn’t even 10 feet,” he says — putting up shot after shot until it was time to come in. “I just loved being out there.”
Obviously, no stats are counted in the backyard. And there were no box scores in those battles with his older brothers. Then, it was all about competition, getting better, and winning.
That’s what has Oweh so excited about the possibilities at Kentucky this season. He wants to play in the NBA someday — who on this team doesn’t? — but his list of goals had nothing to do with draft status or stats or any other personal expectation.
“Number one is, for sure, just to get to the tournament and make that run,” Oweh said. “I’m a top competitor, and for my season to end before March — that’s a bummer for me. … We didn’t make the tournament my freshman year or my sophomore year. So I just wanted to be in an environment where I knew that I would be surrounded by a winning culture. And I feel like there’s no place like Kentucky when it comes to that.
“Oklahoma was great. I enjoyed it my last two years. I feel like I did everything that I could besides get to the tournament. So the whole thing for me is really just to get to March.”
If anything has brought Pope’s first team together so quickly, it’s seemingly that shared goal. Up and down the roster, Kentucky’s players have pointed to not only March, but April — when the Final Four is played — as the ultimate aspiration for this team, and Oweh has been among the most vocal when articulating the self-sacrifice necessary to make that happen.
He feels like the individual parts of this team will lead to a greater whole, allowing each Wildcat to personally thrive in the space that’s created. He’s also enjoyed Pope’s hands-on approach to coaching and communication.
Oweh said Pope regularly leaves players with “little gems” of basketball knowledge. “And you’re thinking about it all day, and then you understand what he means. And then we’ll come back the next day, and he’ll ask you, ‘What did you get from what I said?’ … It makes you really think about it.”
In the early going, arguably no one on this Kentucky team has stood out as much as Oweh, but — after years of feeling overlooked — he’s unmoved by the attention he’s been getting the past couple of weeks. He sure is happy for the opportunity, though.
“I feel like everything’s perfect timing. Maybe I wasn’t in that limelight then just so I could be here now. That’s just kind of how I look at it.”
Saturday
Bucknell at No. 23 Kentucky
When: 4 p.m.
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Bucknell 1-0, Kentucky 1-0
Series: First meeting
This story was originally published November 8, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
