‘Life-changing.’ Otega Oweh reflects on his Kentucky career ahead of NBA draft
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Otega Oweh earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Kentucky.
- Oweh led Kentucky in scoring in back-to-back seasons and scored 1,255 points.
- Many mock drafts projected Oweh as a second‑round pick after the Combine.
Two weeks ago, amid the hustle and bustle of NBA draft season, Otega Oweh returned to the place that provided him with the platform that has the league’s biggest decision makers taking notice.
This trip had nothing to do with basketball.
Oweh was back in Rupp Arena one more time. But instead of a white jersey with blue lettering — what Kentucky fans had grown accustomed to seeing him wear over the past two years — he donned a blue cap and gown with a white sash.
The now-former college basketball star was there to walk across the Rupp stage as a UK graduate.
“It was amazing,” said Oweh, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication. “My whole family was there. I really got to enjoy it with my family. Just having everyone there celebrating — they showed up and showed out, so we had fun.
“And then obviously just being in Lexington one last time, it was amazing. It was sad, coming and going, but it was a great two years, and that was kind of like the final goodbye. I got to see everybody. I got to work out there one last time. So I was just really thankful and appreciative that I was able to go back and walk.”
In a one-on-one interview with the Herald-Leader from the NBA Combine, the former UK standout reflected on his final two seasons of college and the future that awaits, he hopes, at the highest level of the sport he loves.
When Oweh originally committed to new Kentucky coach Mark Pope out of the transfer portal a little more than two years ago, he was viewed as an intriguing addition for a new era of UK basketball, but he lacked the track record of some of his more celebrated teammates and was far from a sure thing following a couple of uneven years spent as an underclassman at Oklahoma.
The New Jersey native made such a splash in his first year as a Wildcat, however, that he sparked NBA interest after his junior season, going through the draft process last year before ultimately deciding to return to Lexington and be the anchor for Pope’s second UK team.
The 2025-26 season didn’t go as many expected, but Oweh continued to flourish, leading the Cats in scoring for the second consecutive year and maintaining his position as a potential pick in next month’s NBA draft.
He’s stayed plenty busy in the two months since Kentucky’s season came to an end.
“It’s a dream, just going through this process,” Oweh said. “Obviously getting invited to the Combine, I’m thankful. And it’s just hooping, you know, 24/7, and then obviously meeting with the teams and doing the NBPA meetings. It’s been really fun, just knowing that this is going to be my reality soon. So I’m enjoying it.”
Oweh is no lock to be selected in the June 23-24 draft, but he often shows up as a second-round pick in the most prominent mock drafts, and his stock appears to be on the rise following Combine week, where he turned in a couple of impressive scrimmage performances.
CBS Sports projected Oweh as the No. 48 overall pick in its first update following the Combine, and Yahoo Sports had him at No. 53 on its most recent board. The Athletic pegged Oweh as the No. 56 in its most recent mock draft, which was posted before the Combine began.
At the time of Oweh’s interview with the Herald-Leader, he said the Oklahoma City Thunder were the only team he had personally met with, though he later took part in a private “pro day” workout for NBA scouts while in Chicago and was in the process of setting up additional meetings.
The feedback he’s heard so far has been positive, with NBA decision makers drawn to his ability to seemingly mesh well with a wide variety of teammates. Oweh has also made clear that he’s willing to accept whatever role is needed to get a shot to play in the league as a rookie.
“Everyone loves my confidence in my game,” he said. “They say I don’t try and force the issue. I don’t try and do things that are out of the box, so they just love the confidence in my game. And that leads with efficiency. They just tell me to continue to be a two-way presence, two-way force.
“And if you’re efficient, that’s going to get you on the court quick. So, obviously, defense is the calling card, and that’s what’s going to get me to where I want to go.”
Otega Oweh’s legacy at Kentucky
Oweh was the leading scorer on Pope’s first UK team, but others — Lamont Butler, Koby Brea and Amari Williams, among them — often received more attention.
In his second and final season in Lexington, the 6-foot-4 guard fought through a painful foot injury that sidelined him for much of the fall and lingered into the regular season.
He acknowledged late in his senior year that the injury had negatively affected his play early on, though he was still a force for Kentucky and one of the most consistent performers in the country. Oweh finished his UK career with 1,255 points, the most ever for a Wildcat who played just two seasons with the program.
Kentucky fell well short of its team goals, however, stumbling its way to a disappointing 22-14 record, ultimately losing to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a season filled with injuries to key players.
In addition to two years’ worth of consistency, Oweh gave UK fans a thrill with his near-halfcourt heave to beat the buzzer and force overtime against Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cats went on to win that game, the final victory of Oweh’s college career.
Still, he acknowledged being unsure of how Kentucky fans will remember his time in Lexington.
“I’ve thought about it, for sure. And I don’t know,” he said of his legacy as a Wildcat. “I feel that’s up to people and the fans to remember me how they please. Obviously, I hope that I did my part in having people remember me for a really long time. Obviously, I wish — I wish — we would have won more. And I wish we would have gone further in the tournament.
“But I enjoyed my last two years. It was amazing. Coming to Kentucky changed my life. So I hope the fans remember me for just going out there and giving it my all every single game.”
Oweh is also hoping that his former college coach enjoys a more successful future.
Not on the NBA draft radar before transferring to Kentucky two years ago, Oweh flourished under Pope’s tutelage, emerging as a legitimate two-way player and refining some key aspects of his game while retaining a quirky style that kept opponents off balance on both ends of the court.
While some recent players in the UK basketball fishbowl have claimed they avoid social media completely, Oweh has said on multiple occasions that he doesn’t shy away from fan posts and other online commentary. “I see it all,” he said at one point this past season.
So, the 22-year-old knows full well that Pope has caught much of the flak for UK’s struggles this past season, as well as criticism for high-profile recruiting misses in recent months. Oweh spoke with confidence that the Kentucky coach would find great success in Lexington, citing the job he did in building the 2024-25 roster from scratch as one example.
“You saw what he did. He got there in April, put together a team super quick, and we made it all the way to the Sweet 16,” Oweh said of his first season. “I mean, obviously, I know when you come to Kentucky, everything’s under a microscope. So you just have to be prepared for that. And Coach Pope is super prepared for that. The same way that players put in countless hours in the gym, he puts in double that in the office and recruiting and going to house visits.
“So I just know all that is going to pay off. The players that he recruits, they’re going to see that and go to war with him, just the same way that we went to war for him last year and the year before that. So I got nothing but confidence in Coach Pope. He’s genuine, he gives it his all, and I know that it’s all gonna pay off.”
And while Oweh is uncertain of how Kentucky fans will remember his two years as a Wildcat, he’s crystal clear on what the past two seasons have meant to him.
“Life-changing. Literally,” he said. “Like, before I got to Kentucky, and when I got there, and when I left, my life just did a 180. So obviously I’ll never forget those two years. And I’m still watching. I still go back and watch all the games. Trust. Just because it was so fun. But I’ll definitely remember these last two years as monumental and life-changing for me.”
