Mark Pope says Otega Oweh wants to work on getting his shot off quicker. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Otega Oweh’s week at the NBA Combine will determine if he’s back at Kentucky next season or playing in the NBA.
He’s still not listed on any recent NBA mock drafts but has draftable measurements — 6-4 1/4, 212.6 pounds, 6-8 1/2 wingspan and 8-5 1/2 standing reach — based on what Draft Express reported from the Combine in Chicago.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope gave his own scouting analysis on Oweh, UK’s leading scorer last season after transferring from Oklahoma, during his press conference Tuesday.
“Otega’s physicality is elite. His physicality on the offensive and defensive end, that shows up in a lot of ways. It shows up in contact, it shows up in his explosiveness, it shows up in his first step, it shows up in his ability to kind of navigate guarding guys off the ball through screens and on the ball through screens by creating space with his chest,” Pope said.
“In those ways, he is as good as you’re going to find. He’s really special. He grew so much last season in terms of kind of winning the point of attack over and over, whether it was on the ball or off the ball defensively.”
That’s a strong endorsement but not enough to make Owen a first-round draft pick. His best projections all season have been late in the second round — a spot where Oweh likely would make a lot more money at UK next season than he would at the end of a NBA bench or in the G League.
ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony does not even list Oweh among the top players who must decide whether to stay in the draft or return to college.
“Like all of us, he has so much room to grow,” Pope said. “I think his ceiling as a playmaker, he hasn’t even begun to tap into that. I think he can become an elite, elite-level playmaker.”
There’s more.
“Something that he’s talked a lot about is his ability to get his shot off more quickly. He shot the ball really well last year at 36, 37 percent from 3, but to get it off quicker and get more attempts, I think is a big deal for him,” Pope said. “On the defensive end, his ability to kind of neutralize bigs on the glass and bigs on switches is a place where he can really excel. I think he has a chance to grow into one of the elite steals guys in the country.
“He’s got a ton of room to grow. He’s an unbelievable player who had a great season last year. It’s pretty fun to talk about.”
Pope said the UK coaching staff is supporting all the UK players involved in the process of trying to start a professional career.
“We’re talking to all of our guys going through this process all the time,” Pope said. “This is a really exciting time for our guys that are in this draft process. As a staff, we’ve had guys out to all the different venues where they’re training, guys at the G League combine, we’ll have a presence at the Combine this week, guys’ workouts.
“These are lifelong relationships that we build. As these guys pursue the next step, it’s really exciting for us and exciting for them. We’re on it.”
5 Responses
Exciting times.
For me, the biggest and easiest thing for Oweh to improve on is his shooting percentage from 5 feet on in. I bet this past season his shooting percentage on those shots was in the low 40’s if even that high. He can get to the basket against anyone, but most of his shots in close are misses. If he can get that up to around 60% he can add another 8 points per game.
He missed a ton in that range.
I wish him all the best, as I do all the Kentucky players. But I guess I am a bit selfish, I want him back one more year. His dream will still be there and with one more year at Kentucky.
Oh, boy, the ceiling is so high for him. However, whatever he decides, I will be happy for him.
I want him to come back. But he wants to see if he can make it big. So if he decides to stay in the draft I hope he makes it.