Sean Woods, Jack Givens Glad to Have Otega Oweh Back

Vicky Graff Photo

Obviously Kentucky fans were excited when Otega Oweh confirmed he was taking his name out of the NBA Draft and returning to UK for his senior season. However, it was more than just fans who understood what this meant for the Wildcats.

“One of most physical guards in CBB (college basketball). Dude is a winner. Year 2 under (Mark) Pope could be special,” ESPN/SEC Network analyst Jimmy Dykes posted on social media.

Oweh was Kentucky’s leading scorer last season after transferring from Oklahoma and said he was returning to help Kentucky win a national title, something that Pope has embraced.

Former UK guard Sean Woods, a veteran college coach, knows Oweh is a “big piece” for Pope to build around next season.

“I was hoping and praying he would come back,” Woods, one of Rick Pitino’s Unforgettables, said. “He is a guy who carried us on his back the last half of last season with all injuries. He stayed steady and was the anchor for the team.

“With the transfers coming in you never know exactly what you will get. In this day if you get guys to stay another year that is big, especially if they are major contributors like Oweh. To me, he was the most important piece to get back.

“His tenacity gives us a defensive minded presence. He knows what to expect from Pope. Guys that are older and coming from different places still have never been coached by Pope and don’t know how he does things. Oweh has that experience and knowledge to share with them.”

Former UK All-American Jack Givens believes the advice Oweh got from NBA personnel going through the draft process will be invaluable for him.

“Sometimes the message resonates a little more coming from somebody else that they don’t hear all the time,” Givens said. “Mark Pope has said many times he thinks he can really improve as a playmaker. He’s heard that from the folks at the NBA, and they’ve told him some things that he talked about that are kind of exciting to hear and give him things to work on. All of those things can drive him to have a tremendous next second year in Kentucky.

“Those people in his closest inner circle are telling him he’s the best player, and he does this great, and he doesn’t have to improve. As a player you want to believe that, and you start to believe that. I think it’s good that he heard stuff from professionals about his game. These are the big-time decision makers on the next level, and everybody wants to get there, so it pays to listen to what they say.”

Givens said he wishes he could have “tested” the NBA Draft process the way players do now after his junior season to get feedback from NBA personnel because he knows they would have told him to work on his ball handling and creating his own shot off the dribble.

“I just wish I could have heard that, and that would have helped me to change my whole focus as to how I played my game,” Givens said. “I was successful as a college player and all of that stuff, but I think back now and I see these guys at 6-7 that handle the ball and play point guard, and I just wish I’d gotten that advice when I was at Kentucky because It would have helped my career.

“We need to have our guys hearing stuff from people who are not around them but have had their best interests at heart. It’s good to hear that kind of stuff.”

Givens hopes the need to improve his 3-point percentage does not translate to him having to take more 3-point shots. Oweh hit 35.5 percent from 3 on 76 attempts last season.

“There’s a lot of talk about Ortega needing to change his shot and get the form better. No, he needs to perfect what he has,” Givens said. “There’s not an NBA team that if he’s making shots consistently and getting the shots off better and all of that, that will say, ‘No, I don’t want you because you’re shooting 40 percent with an ugly shot.’ They say, ‘No, I want you because you’re shooting 40 percent,’” Givens said.

“So I hope he’s not hearing that he needs to shoot more 3’s, but is hearing that he has to perfect what he has from going through this process. Next year, I’m looking forward to seeing how his game improves. If he’s able to duplicate the numbers that he put up last year, I don’t think he needs to do any more other than he can improve his assist-to-turnover ratio.”

Givens was intrigued when Oweh said that he was told he needed to be in better physical condition. Oweh not only led UK in scoring at 16.2 points per game last year but also in total minutes played (1.020) and minutes per game (28.3).

“That might be the biggest nugget he hears, or maybe heard, throughout this whole process, because when you are in better condition, when you are in better shape, you play better,” Givens said. “I don’t care how good a shape you start out in, when you’re in better condition, you’re going to do everything better.”