Otega Oweh has become a fan favorite at Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)
He’s already been named Southeastern Conference Preseason Player of the Year and now Kentucky senior guard Otega Oweh has been named a preseason second-team All-American by CBS Sports along with Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg.
Oweh transferred to Kentucky from Oklahoma last year and had a monster season for new UK coach Mark Pope. He led the Cats in scoring at 16.2 points per game and scored in double figures in each of UK’s first 26 contests and 33 overall.
He played so well that he contemplated leaving UK for the NBA before deciding to return for a final season after he set career-best marks in points, rebounds (4.7), assists (1.7), steals (1.6) and blocks (0.5) per game as well as free-throw percentage (.776). Oweh also led the Cats in steals with 57 on the season.
Oweh, a second-team all-SEC choice following the 2024-25 season, made it clear in the offseason he also wanted to become a more vocal leader on and off the court this season.
“I’m definitely gonna have to be one of the leaders, but I’m gonna do it in my own way. Definitely be vocal, but also be a little intense,” Oweh said during the summer. “I like talking, talking a lot in terms of stuff like that.
“I am gonna challenge people. People always try to elevate their game by doing more than what they need to do. For me, I feel like simple always wins, and consistency always wins.”
Pope was delighted to have Oweh back after he got “great feedback” from the draft process.
“I really believe he’ll have an even better year and be able to do even more things for us this season,” Pope said.
Kentucky will host Purdue Friday and Georgetown Oct. 30 in exhibition games before opening regular season play Nov. 4 against Nicholls.
2 Responses
Oweh was the engine that drove Kentucky last year. That won't necessarily be the case this year. Last year, we would have had 6 to 8 more losses without Oweh's heroics. This year we won't need Oweh to be the hero every game…just be a consistent contributor. Hopefully Oweh's aspiration of being a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft doesn't create problems for team chemistry this season. Oweh was basically a no show in the Blue/White game. I attribute that to still getting back into his groove from his toe injury. Other players shined and you could tell that Oweh was not happy not being the star of the game. Oweh's performance in the Purdue exhibition will be the early key to this season. Will he blend in and sacrifice his numbers for the sake of the team or will he try to force the issue and be the star? We will soon find out.
I agree. Oweh can average the same amount of points and just up the rest of his game. Assist, steals, and cutting down on turnovers will be the key to taking his game to the next level. Improve on his free throw shooting and increase his 3 point percentage by 2-3% and he will be fine. Winning will be the calling card for how much of a leader he really is. If he can get his 3 point % close to 40% while averaging about 16-17 ppg. He will be a first round pick if we win over 30 games and make a final 4 run. If we win the championship and hes the best player on the team he will be a lottery pick. Winning is what will move the needle for Oweh. I'm happy he came back to improve his game even more. He will be much better this year.
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