Otega Oweh reveals when he learned he was SEC Preseason POTY -- and why 'multiple Cats' will earn postseason honors

There was hope, obviously, that Otega Oweh would earn SEC Preseason Player of the Year honors when the league awards were announced this week. Coming off an All-SEC campaign in year one at Kentucky that saw him lead the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game with 33 double-figure scoring performances, there would be stiff competition in the toughest conference in college basketball, but his qualifications spoke for themselves. Would voters feel the same way? He wasn’t certain.

The 6’4″ guard was sitting in the training room at the Joe Craft Center, finally back at practice with no limitations after sitting out with a turf toe injury since the end of the summer. Like the rest of us, Kentucky athletic trainer Brandon Wells wanted to know how Oweh felt about his chances.

“I was actually talking with my trainer. We were in the training room, and he was like, ‘Do you know if you’re gonna be it or not?'” Oweh said of the SEC preseason awards and potentially being picked to win the big one. “I was like, ‘I really don’t, but we’re gonna see.'”

Then the press release came through, Oweh sitting atop the conference as the official top dog: SEC Preseason Player of the Year and First Team All-SEC pick.

“Literally like ten minutes after that, that’s when it came out. So I feel like he manifested it, Brandon Wells. That’s my guy. So that’s when I found out. … I mean, I was super excited.”

He wasn’t alone on that list, and that doesn’t surprise Oweh in the slightest. If anything, he’s shocked more Wildcats weren’t included on the All-SEC teams.

But first, he was simply excited for Jaland Lowe to join him as a co-face of the Wildcats and solidify Kentucky as one of five teams with multiple selections.

“That’s my PG, and I’m happy for him,” Oweh told KSR. “He’s coming off a great year at Pitt, too. I know he’s gonna do great things in the SEC.”

For Lowe, he appreciates earning Third Team All-SEC honors, but it’s more important for him to earn it as the season goes on by leading one of the best teams in the sport to wins.

They have more to accomplish as a group beyond individual accolades, especially preseason accolades.

“I mean, it popped up on my feed, but it really doesn’t mean anything to me right now,” Lowe told KSR. “It’s just, it’s a preseason accolade. I’m blessed to receive that, but I’ve got higher aspirations, and this team’s got higher aspirations to do a lot bigger things than that.”

What are some of those goals?

“A national championship,” Lowe continued. “Winning takes care of everything. The way that our group of guys is built, we really wanna win a national championship to bring Kentucky back to that top-one pedestal and do it for our fans.”

Why not both? That’s Oweh’s argument — and what he feels will ultimately happen. Does winning lead to All-SEC accolades or does having All-SEC talent lead to winning?

The league’s pick for Preseason Player of the Year believes we’re all about to find out.

“I really feel like five, six, seven, eight guys could really be on that team,” Oweh told KSR. “We’re so deep, and there’s so much talent that you gotta prepare for. You don’t know who could show up on any given day. So I feel like by the end of the year, we’re gonna have multiple Cats on one of these teams.”

I can see the headline already: “Kentucky, led by all ten All-SEC First and Second Team selections, hangs banner No. 9.”