Otega Oweh on his first season at Kentucky: "The most fun I've had playing basketball"

Mar 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) dunks the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second half during a Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Otega Oweh isn’t a 100 percent guarantee to return for a senior year of college basketball, but if his first season at Kentucky was any indication of what he’s thinking, running it back in 2025-26 will be quite appealing.

Oweh’s junior campaign didn’t end the way he would have liked. Kentucky’s Sweet 16 loss to rival Tennessee in Indianapolis will leave a slightly sour taste going into the offseason. But outside of that, the former Oklahoma transfer likely wouldn’t change anything else about how his first run in Lexington went.

He gives all the credit to first-year head coach Mark Pope.

“It was awesome. This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball ever,” Oweh told Jack Givens on the UK postgame radio show. “That just goes to Coach Pope and the way he took this group under his wing and coached everybody. He’s a different kind of coach. He’s more like a teacher. He just pumps unlimited confidence into his guys and that’s huge when you’re a basketball player. I’m just thankful.”

Not only was the 2024-25 season a successful one for Pope, but for Oweh, he took a significant leap in his development in less than a calendar year. The 6-foot-5 bulldozer went from 11.4 points per game as a sophomore at Oklahoma to leading Kentucky in scoring as a junior with 16.3 points per game. He scored double-figures in 33 of 36 games played. There are still some areas of his game to clean up, but the New Jersey native was named Second Team All-SEC and is being mentioned on NBA Draft Big Boards.

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Which means Oweh could have a decision to make this offseason. He’s not currently projected as a draft pick, but he’ll almost certainly test the process so he can receive feedback from NBA executives and scouts. The expectation right now is that Oweh returns as Kentucky’s on- and off-court leader going into 2025-26.

If that pans out, he’ll be a perfect building block for Pope as he now turns to reloading his roster in the offseason.