Otega Oweh with teammate Trent Noah at the UK Father-Son Camp. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Like most Kentucky fans, Otega Oweh really had no idea that Travis Perry was going to leave UK after one season with the Wildcats.
Perry, Kentucky’s 2024 Mr. Basketball and all-time leading high school scorer, transferred to Ole Miss after putting his name into the transfer portal just before it closed.
However, Otega, who transferred from Oklahoma to UK last season and became an all-SEC selection, understood what Perry did.
“Travis, you got to do what you got to do. Same thing that we did when we transferred into Kentucky,” Oweh said recently. “You just got to find your home where you fit.
“I was definitely keeping up with those guys. Collin (Chandler), you know he had a busy offseason (getting married), but I was just trying to keep up with them.”
Oweh communicated frequently with Brandon Garrison about his own plans concerning the NBA draft as well as Garrison’s decision about whether to stay at UK or transfer. He also knew that Trent Noah was not leaving UK.
Oweh, UK’s leading scorer last year, also was vigilant about following what coach Mark Pope was doing to add new additions to the 2025-26 roster. He kept track of every potential new teammate being courted by Pope and his staff.
Of course, Kentucky’s returning players also kept track of what Oweh was doing during his NBA workouts.
“They knew the situation. They know it’s everyone’s dream to get to that point, so a lot of it was just checking up and just seeing how things were going,” Oweh said.
Now Pope has Oweh, Garrison, Chandler and Noah to help UK’s transfers and freshmen understand what it takes to succeed in Pope’s system just like Jaxson Robinson had to do my himself last year since he was the only player on the team ever to have played for Pope.
“You got a couple guys that you already have that kind of close-knit bond with, but they also understand what it takes and what you have to do to be successful here. A lot of guys may not be ready for what comes with playing for Kentucky basketball, but when you have multiple guys that have been here, you kind of ease that for them early,” Oweh said.
He expects all of his returning teammates to be dramatically improved in their second year under Pope just like he expects to be an improved player.
“I’m really excited, especially for BG (Garrison). He’s put on some muscle, and I feel like his mentality has definitely grown,” Oweh said.
He thinks Chandler, who had not played basketball during his two-year mission trip, will make a “big” jump.
“He didn’t really get a full summer to get his feet back under him, so now he’s gonna have a full summer. He’s played too, so he knows what it takes. I think it’s gonna be a good year for him,” Oweh said.
Oweh is just as confident he can be a better player in year two with Pope than he was last season, too.
“The confidence that he puts in his players, it’s mainly you. It’s just how comfortable you are, you put the work in,” Oweh said. “I know what I have to do. I know this is what’s gonna push me to that next level. It’s just me going out there and doing it.”
2 Responses
Chandler, Oweh, Noah, and Garrison would have made a solid core for a starting five. Oweh and Garrison will get plenty of PT, but what about Chandler and Noah. They should see solid minutes as backups, but I fear that will not be the case.
Lowe will start at the point with Aberdeen the primary backup; Chandler gets to mop up. Oweh starts at the 2 with Johnson the primary backup; Noah gets to mop up.
Dioubute starts at the 3 with Williams as the primary backup; Hawthorne gets to mop up.
Jelavic starts at the 4 with Quaintance being the primary backup or vice versa depending on Quaintance’s readiness; Potter gets to mop up.
Garrison starts at the 5 with Quaintance or Jelavic or both being the primary backups; Moreno mostly mops up.
The starters get 22-24 minutes, the backups get 13-15 minutes, the mop ups get what’s left…maybe 1-5 minutes at best. Even with that distribution, there will be more than the mop ups who won’t be happy with their PT no matter how hard Pope tries to keep everyone happy.
If the injury bugs comes again, this year it won’t alter the level of play like it did last year. If injuries don’t happen, we will have 4 very talented kids who won’t see much action. That is the risk of coming to Kentucky. You can be good and still not play much until the following year and maybe not then. That is the kind of sacrifice it takes to win championships. Chandler, Noah, Hawthorne, and Moreno would see significant PT at almost any other school in the country. If we make the Final 4 or win it all, these 4 kids probably won’t see much time on the floor, but they will help make everyone else better and the team stronger. I hope they don’t get over recruited again in 2026, or worse, hit the portal…like Perry did. I don’t blame Perry, he was the lowest man on the totem pole; but in order to win championships a team needs kids like Chandler, Noah, Hawthorne, and Moreno. That’s where the transfer portal comes in. Kids can only sacrifice so much for so long and then they will do what they have to do to get to play more…for someone else.
The way I see it is the starting 5 will probably be Lowe/Aberdeen/Oweh/Mo-D/Garrison until JQ is fully healthy. I’m not quite sure when that will be but he’s a worker and is set on being healthy by September bless his heart. More like November or December until he’s fully healthy to play. The backups while we wait for JQ will be Johnson/Chandler/Williams-Noah/Jelavic/Moreno-Potter I’m forgetting someone. You could say we are 2-3 deep at every position. There will be injuries tho. You know nowadays its nothing for 2-3 guys to sit out over a hang nail.