Mark Pope Details How He Learned Otega Oweh was Returning to Kentucky

mark-pope-otega-oweh — Feb 8, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks with guard Otega Oweh (00) during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

If you thought you were excited when you learned that Otega Oweh was returning to Kentucky for another season, you should have seen Mark Pope.

The two Kentucky Wildcats caught up during this weekend’s summer basketball camps at the Joe Craft Center. The folks at UK Sports Network handed Oweh a mic, who found his head coach and asked him what happened when Pope learned that No. 00 would be back for the 2025-26 Kentucky basketball season.

“I was on a plane, and I don’t understand why or how, but the call actually came through,” Pope said.

“Otega called me and said, ‘Coach, let’s do this. I’m coming back.’ I was looking around. I think the pilot was about to throw me out the plane.”

The scene sounded a bit chaotic. Pope yelled to make sure Oweh heard him. “OTEGA! I got to call you back later! But just hold that thought!’

When Pope was able to get Oweh back on the line 15 minutes later, the tears were flowing. Sure, there were selfish reasons behind his jubilation, but he did not forget to put his player first.

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“I knew a couple of things. One, I know how excited you are and how much you want to go play in that league. I know it’s the dream of a lifetime,” said Pope.

“It’s super humbling to see you do two things. One, how much you want to get better, and how committed you are to getting better. And secondly, to see how much you understand and appreciate what you have right now. That’s special stuff. Now we’re getting back to work.”

Part of getting back to work is passing the rigorous Kentucky summer conditioning test. Those workouts will be much more difficult than the ones he performed with NBA teams. Nevertheless, Oweh is fired up and excited to put on a Kentucky basketball jersey for one more season.

“There’s no place I’d rather be,” said Oweh.

Want to know how Coach Pope found out Otega Oweh was coming back for Year 2 at Kentucky?

We’re dropping the full camp video with Otega later this week — don’t miss it! pic.twitter.com/0nqipI19zy
— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) June 8, 2025

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