Otega Oweh has finally made his decision, and it looks like he will not hit be the NBA hardwood courts this season.
The 6-foot-5 guard transferred from the Oklahoma Sooners to the Kentucky Wildcats last spring and had chosen to go the NBA way after the end of the 2024-25 season. However, moments before the deadline, he pulled his name from the draft pool.
Oweh decided to return to the Wildcats for his senior season. Why walk away when the NBA was within reach? Was it about his draft stock, or was there more to the story?
Otega Oweh Cites Reasons for NBA Draft Withdrawal
Oweh’s return is not just about another year in college or NIL deals. Oweh was the leading scorer for the Wildcats last season and entered the NBA Draft Combine with momentum.
In his first scrimmage, he scored 10 points and dished out three assists. Oweh followed that up with 14 points and five rebounds on the next day. Oweh also shot 53% off the dribble, 48% from the 3-point line, and 90% from the free-throw line. With those numbers, NBA scouts, of course, took notice. But they also had some notes.
“The feedback was really just about me taking more threes,” Oweh said in a recent press conference. “My percentage was good both years, it was just the volume. So now, I’m ready to go back and work on the things they’re asking for.”
Evidently, his game wasn’t the problem. Oweh needed to show more confidence and frequency.
As for the decision itself, Oweh said it was not a dramatic moment.
“It was just going through the process, hearing where teams would take you,” he said. “And it’s like, if I have one more year, I can just go back and improve that stock. And if we win the whole thing, everyone wins.”
Oweh has unfinished business with Kentucky. The Wildcats had a great season under head coach Mark Pope in his first year. Kentucky finished 24-12 in the regular season, reaching the Sweet 16 before losing to the Tennessee Volunteers,78-65.
“It just really felt like we had unfinished business,” Oweh said. So, he’s back with the Wildcats along with a great roster surrounding him as Pope was quick to retool the team.
Pope bought in transfers like Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe and Kam Williams. He has also recruited names like Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.
Oweh is Pope’s top returnee, and big man Brandon Garrison is coming in this season. Quaintance is still recovering from ACL surgery. It’s truly a moment where Oweh can show that he can lead a team.
Oweh’s numbers say that he can lead. Last season, he had 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. Last season, Oweh scored 28 points in his debut for Kentucky and hit the game-winning shot. That is a big change from the bench minutes he saw at Oklahoma.
Kentucky tips off its 2025–26 season with October exhibitions against Purdue and Georgetown.
