'Back Better Now,' Otega Oweh returns to Kentucky with title dreams: "Banner No. 9 is real and it's the drive"

Tania Oweh knew from the beginning her son had a gift. Playing AAU at just five years old, Otega’s coach never missed an opportunity to say her son was ‘such a dog,’ a natural hooper capable of making the hardest shots and plays look easy. He was a fighter — that tends to happen when you grow up with three other siblings, including two older brothers. They’d go to the backyard and duke it out, always finding ways to compete in a never-ending push to one-up each other at every turn.

As the youngest Oweh in a first-generation Nigerian household — father born in Nigeria and mother born in London to Nigerian parents — Otega grew up with a chip on his shoulder desperate to prove himself. When the family was inside playing games, he saw it as an opportunity to attack his craft, working on his ball handling and figuring out how to dunk. From elementary to middle to high school, he refused to be outworked.

“It was always a competition between the three of them, and Otega was not going to be last,” Tania Oweh told KSR. “He never wanted to be in that position, so from very, very young, he always had that drive. Always. He was always working, that young. This habit is not a habit that he just developed.”

Brotherly Love

There was a turning point in his basketball journey, though, one that mostly had to do with his brother’s football journey. The oldest, Odafe, had become an All-Big Ten First Team member at Penn State and declared for the 2021 NFL Draft as a likely first-round selection. Surrounded by family and friends at the Oweh draft party, Odafe was instructed to appoint somebody to pick up the hat of the team that calls — they had all 32 possibilities on the table — and hand it to the star pass-rusher when Roger Goodell reads his name on stage.

His picks? Both younger brothers, Kaylen — a former Division I defensive back himself — and Otega.

The Baltimore Ravens call, informing Odafe he’d be the selection at No. 31. Kaylen grabs the black and purple hat off the table and hands it to Otega. When Otega turns toward Odafe, he’s got tears rolling down his cheeks, overwhelmed by the moment.

After the dust settled on the celebration, Tania went over to Otega and asked why he got so emotional.

“Mom, it just became so real,” he told his mother. “All the hard work, everything that was put in, now we see the rewards. It makes me now know that I, too, am this close to touching where I want to be.”

The light comes on for Otega

He got to see with his own two teary eyes what the light at the end of the tunnel looks like, the reward for pursuing greatness. Odafe and Kaylen set the standard for Otega, right before he was ready to begin his own college journey on the hardwood as a member of the high school class of 2022.

“It was a full-circle moment for me because I saw all of that. … I just looked at it and I knew, I saw that hunger and that realization. The light came on for Otega,” Tania told KSR. “If you looked at him, you could tell that something switched on in his head that, ‘I can do this too.’ That was a very, very, very, very pivotal moment in Otega’s life.”

Three months after the NFL Draft, Odafe flew down to Augusta to watch his baby brother lead Team Final to a Peach Jam championship on the Nike EYBL circuit. During their title run, he took Otega outside and told him to dream of that prized AAU title trophy and erase everything else from his mind. He went back in that gym and “the rest is history,” as Tania describes it.

From Oklahoma to Kentucky

Comfortably a four-star, top-100 recruit leaving that summer, Oweh would take visits to Illinois, Penn State and Oklahoma before ultimately signing with the Sooners. Making his way to Norman the following summer, he began as a two-way role player off the bench in year one before emerging as a starter and the team’s second-leading scorer in year two. He’d found his footing and was growing at the pace he had hoped, but felt a craving for something more.

Then Kentucky called and changed everything.

“Otega has always been that kid that when you put him in a situation, he shines brightest when the lights are on. Whatever platform that is, he will show up,” Tania told KSR. “But there’s also — we all know that you have to love the one you’re with. It’s who recruits you, the best opportunity that you go with at the time. The option he chose was Oklahoma, but at some point (in the portal), Kentucky came knocking at the door.”

He already proved himself as a high-major standout in the Big 12, but if he wanted to reach his dreams of playing professionally the way Odafe had, Otega would have to embrace professional competition on the biggest stage. He’d have to go where practices were the toughest, league play was historic and the spotlight was blinding.

“He always knew that to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Oweh continued. “To be the best, you have to be on that platform, right? If you’re ready to play in the NBA where the light shines brighter, why don’t you start that or practice that at the college level? He looked around and said, ‘Well, Kentucky presents that.’ Some other people would have shied away and said, ‘Oh no, that’s too big of a stage,’ but he embraced it. He said, ‘If I want to go to the NBA, this platform will show and expose and present to me what I need to do and what I think I can do.’

“For him, when that knock came, it was time to answer. It was the right timing. It was exactly here, he had two years under his belt at Oklahoma and he was ready. He was very ready.”

An unexpected star for the Wildcats

At the time, Otega’s addition was seen as a good one, but not necessarily a game-changer. Maybe he could be a sleeper SEC Sixth Man of the Year candidate, giving the Wildcats a bucket-getting threat as a driver and finisher with defensive upside, a nice little spark plug off the bench. You knew he’d work hard and provide toughness, someone ready to help Kentucky win games in a year Mark Pope needed to win a lot of them.

The star of the show, leading the team in scoring en route to All-SEC honors and history, tying an all-time college basketball record for most top-15 victories in a season? Back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in a half-decade? The Owehs were probably alone in their confidence — and they were fine with that.

“When he came to Kentucky, I know not even Coach Pope or the staff knew exactly what they were getting with Otega,” Tania said. “Otega knew he was not the highest-touted recruit. He knew that. But like with everything else, he’s always betting on himself. … He put his head down and went to work. That’s all it takes with Otega. He’s a gym rat, he’s a workhorse.

“He went in there and did what he had to do — and, obviously, I don’t need to say the rest.”

“He got great feedback”

The production spoke for itself, scoring in double figures in 33 of Kentucky’s 36 games played while setting career-best marks in points per game (16.2), rebounds per game (4.7), assists per game (1.7), steals per game (1.6) and blocks per game (0.5). Whether he was ready to make the jump to the NBA or not, he put himself in the conversation and at least had to explore the possibility, deciding to test the draft waters while securing an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago — his chance to prove himself in front of scouts and team personnel from all 30 league franchises.

By the end of the process, Oweh was a likely draft pick, the Kentucky star’s feedback “very, very, very good,” his mother says. There were mixed emotions, balancing the anxiety and general demand of workouts, testing and interviews, eye-opening and intense. The family had seen it all on the football side of things watching Odafe prepare for the draft several years back, but basketball was a new one.

The reward was worth the grind, though — as it typically goes.

“It was great — and that’s why he stayed until the last second. He got great feedback,” Oweh told KSR, adding that shooting was the main hold-up for teams among countless positives.

Returning to Lexington for year two

Like he felt leaving Oklahoma, Otega wanted more. He would have been drafted, but not where he hoped with a likely battle for a roster spot and time spent in the G-League. We know he’s not one to back down from a fight, but when you have strong options elsewhere — especially competing for a national championship in Lexington — it’s an unnecessary risk. If he needs to put in more work, why not do it as one of the faces of college basketball with one final season of eligibility?

That’s what pushed him back to Lexington.

“It was more of the fact that as a competitor, an elite competitor, knowing your capabilities and exactly what you want to achieve, for him, he knew there was much, much more that he could become — great, you could say,” Oweh said. “… This was best for him, to go back to school with the feedback and run it all back, try to get No. 9 to finish the year with a bang, then declare for the draft positioned where he wants, which is in the first round.

“He’s always bet on himself, and every year he’s just gone up. God willing, this year will be nothing different and it will keep getting better and better.”

“I’m Back Better Now”

His return announcement included the caption, “I’m Back Better Now” — intentionally leaving out the ‘and’ for the play on words explaining why he decided to go for round two as a Wildcat. On one hand, he’s hungry to pick up where he left off following a dominant debut season in Lexington. On the other, he wants to leave no doubt regarding the color of his blood: I’m BBN.

“That’s the motto, pardon the pun. … He said it very, very succinctly. He said, ‘BBN, I’m back better now.’ That’s exactly what it is,” Tania told KSR. “He has embraced Kentucky just as Kentucky has embraced him. He has goals. He has to go back to school, has to gel and mesh with the new team, he has to be a leader. There are so many things ahead of him and there is a goal they have. Banner No. 9 is real and it’s the drive, it’s the force that he’s coming back for, right?

“Accomplish that, and then it’s time to declare yet again — but this time, it’s a different result based on the compilation of what he’s been able to do in the season. I see the drive in his eyes, I see the goal, and I see the tenacity that he has.”

Full-circle for the Owehs

Back in 2021, it was Kaylen picking up that Baltimore Ravens hat and handing it to Otega, an emotional Otega then handing it to Odafe. In 2026, Kaylen and Odafe will be passing an NBA cap to Otega as they watch his dreams become a reality, their backyard competitions finally paying off all these years later.

“Oh man, I have goosebumps,” Tania said. “… It’s by committee, it takes a family, it takes a village. That’s a very strong mantra for us, the strength in numbers. You’re only as good as your weakest link, so when everybody makes it, it’s better, right? It’s going to be full-circle, ‘You did that for your older brother, and now, by God’s grace, it’s your turn. Exactly what you saw that day when Odafe got drafted, exactly what you dreamt is now a reality. It doesn’t become any more real than that. It doesn’t get more satisfying than that.'”

As a mother, nothing humbles her or makes her prouder than watching her children commit to becoming the best version of themselves. She was able to support and help facilitate without constantly pushing, realizing on their own that while hard work may be painful, setting your mind to something can lead to extraordinary results with faith. “Without God, we are only so good,” she says. “I just sit back and feel so, so, so, so grateful and feel that they’re living their dreams.”

A championship sparkle in Otega’s eye

She saw those dreams overlap recently when planning the family’s annual trip to Nigeria for Odafe’s youth football camp — he’s the founder of the Dafe Oweh Family Fund for Africa (DOFFA), which has promoted diversity, family, financial freedom and actualization for youth in underserved communities in the United States and Africa since 2022, in conjunction with The Oweh Foundation for Opportunity.

When asked to be a part of this year’s camp as the last family member to visit, Otega respectfully declined. The reason? Tania says her youngest son gave a good one, a response Big Blue Nation is certain to appreciate.

“Otega told me — he said, ‘Mom, I’ve got to go back (to Kentucky). Every single day is very important, I can’t take one single day off,'” she told KSR. “That’s the drive he has, and BBN is going to see it. There’s a sparkle in his eye. There’s a drive and a dream that is driving him.

“BBN is going to see that he’s back better now.”