Otega Oweh expects year-two leaps for all of Kentucky's returning talent

Kentucky recruited five players with additional eligibility remaining from Mark Pope‘s debut season back to Lexington and got four of them to return. Brandon Garrison was the first to announce he was back, followed by Collin Chandler and Trent Noah. Travis Perry was the first unexpected departure, entering the transfer portal and signing with Chris Beard at Ole Miss, followed by the biggest news of all at the draft withdrawal deadline with Otega Oweh turning down the pros for another year in blue and white.

They all kept up with each other in the early days of the offseason as roster decisions were made both internally and elsewhere — then continued to do so after kicking Perry out of the group chat.

“Me and BG was talking every single day. Trent, I kind of knew what his situation was,” Oweh said this week. “And then Travis, I didn’t really know. But you know, Travis, you got to do what you got to do. Same thing that we did when we transferred into Kentucky. You just got to find your home where you fit. I was definitely keeping up with those guys. Collin, you know he had a busy offseason (getting married), but I was just trying to keep up with them.”

Oweh followed along with Pope’s recruiting efforts, too, looking at Kentucky’s new additions and who he’d be teaming up with if he decided to pull out of the draft.

“Every commit, every visit, I knew what it was,” he joked.

His former teammates hoping to be future teammates in 2025-26 did the same for him, checking in and recruiting him back to Lexington for one last ride.

“(They recruited me) a good amount, but it was like — they knew the situation,” Oweh told KSR. “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.”

Minus Perry, the whole gang decided to run it back as Wildcats, and the program is better off because of it. Pope has already talked about his players traditionally making massive leaps in year two, and now, he’s got four of them to work with — one being an All-SEC talent who led Kentucky in scoring last season.

For starters, they know the system and what it takes to thrive under Pope. They’re now the teachers for everyone else, just as Jaxson Robinson was a year ago for the newcomers following the staff from BYU to Kentucky.

“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,” Oweh said. “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 could kind of ease that for them early.”

They’re not just there to be teachers, though. That familiarity is why Oweh expects massive second-year jumps for all of the returning talent.

“Running it back, obviously those guys are — I feel like they can make a really big jump this year,” he said. “… I’m really excited, especially for BG. He’s put on some muscle, and I feel like his mentality has definitely grown for the better. … (Collin’s) year-two jump is going to be big. 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, both on the court and off the court — in all aspects of the game.”

What does a year-two jump look like for Oweh? His confidence is sky-high and knows exactly what he has to do to reach his goals, both individually and as a team.

Now he just has to do it.

“Just continuing to grow my game in the system,” he said. “… I’ve been working a lot individually, as well with being in Coach Pope’s system. The confidence that he puts in his players, it’s mainly you. It’s just how comfortable you are, you put the work in. Now it’s like — 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.”

The returning Cats are back and better than ever.