After Otega Oweh bulldozed his way to the rim for a game-winner amid a chaotic final few seconds, Kentucky
head coach Mark Pope knew he had a special player. Returning to Oklahoma as its latest program villain, the transfer student didn't let the hostile environment rattle him.
At the final buzzer, Oweh had the last laugh. He scored 28 points in Kentucky's 83-82 win over Oklahoma on Feb. 26, 2025. It was the first of two game-winners he hit against his former school in a two-week span. By the end of the Wildcats' 2024-25 regular season, Pope discovered a diamond in the rough.
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"That was probably the first moment where I was like, 'Oh. He's got an extra gear," Pope told Thunder Wire
.
After two forgettable years at Oklahoma, Oweh changed the trajectory of his basketball journey with one daring decision. He transferred to Kentucky to bet on himself. Being an average starter on the Sooners just wasn't cutting it for him. Obviously, the move paid dividends. He turned into the Wildcats' top scorer for his final two years — which coincided with Pope's arrival.
That was enough for Oweh to generate draft buzz. The Oklahoma City Thunder
selected him with the No. 41 pick of the 2026 NBA draft. On a two-way deal, the 23-year-old hopes to join a lineage of two-way success stories there — while also winning back over scorned Sooners fans.
In an exclusive interview with Thunder Wire
, Pope reflected on Oweh's two seasons at Kentucky. He was one of their most dependable players from 2024-26. He averaged 17.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. He started in all 72 games. The college coach set him up for success to eventually reach the NBA level.
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Oweh's move at Kentucky
In the new transfer-portal world, you're allowed infinite chances to better yourself. Long gone are the days when you have to comb through brutally dull paperwork and go through NCAA headaches to get approved to change schools. Now, the system is pretty seamless.
That said, just because college players can freely change schools, it doesn't mean you're guaranteed to have success. Part of Pope's first Kentucky team as he took over for John Calipari, Oweh's defensive motor stuck out to him in their old Big 12 battles between Oklahoma and BYU. That was enough to ring up a call and pitch to him to join the Wildcats.
"Oweh's special sauce is that he's just an elite-level, every-single-day competitor. He loves to compete. His happy place is competing. It's one of the reasons why I think he's going to be so successful as a pro," Pope said. "It doesn't matter what time of day, late at night, early in the morning — you turn on a scoreboard and he just can't wait to compete. He's never tired of it. He's probably the most consistent producer that I've ever coached in my entire coaching career."
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Those intangibles helped Oweh run away with his new opportunity. The jump he made from his first two years at college to his last two years demonstrated he had plenty of runway to grow. With the ball in his hands more often, he became more comfortable as the top scorer for his new team.
How Oweh never looked back
When Pope convinced Oweh to join him at Kentucky, he envisioned a defensive role player. Somebody that could come into the game and cause havoc. Honestly, that was within reason. After all, that's what he was at Oklahoma. It took one game to completely scrap that ceiling.
In his Kentucky debut, Oweh dropped 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting in a 103-62 win over Wright State. I know, I know. Not the toughest competition to put up numbers. But the double-digit scoring didn't stop there. Even when SEC play started. He popped off for 16.2 points in his junior season. Seldom did you see him put up single-digit scoring. That type of production surprised his head coach.
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"When we first brought him in, I thought he was going to be an important piece. But I thought he would probably be a guy that came off the bench and took on defensive assignments," Pope said. "He started every game from day one. He kinda beat out some guys that I had projected to be ahead of him and started every single game for two years. He was our most consistently productive offensive player."
It's one thing to transfer to a new school. It's another to take advantage of the change of scenery. Oweh completely transformed his basketball role. He showed that he could take on more on his plate. He was now a more willing outside shooter. Suddenly, he went from a role player at an average basketball program to the best player on a college hoops blueblood program. That put his name on the map.
What Oweh brings on defense
Defense remains Oweh's bread and butter. That was the case at the collegiate level. All his scouting reports and tape say so. And he will certainly need to carry that over to the next level if he wants to survive the NBA. Congratulations to him and his journey to get to this point. But being a second-round pick is far from the surest job security you can possess in the roster-turnover-happy pro sports business.
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Because Oweh is on a two-way deal, he needs to treat every day — whether it's a practice, G League game or being at the end of the NBA bench — as a job audition. You're only guaranteed one year and 50 NBA games. And because of the cut-throat nature of a two-way deal, there's always a bundle of replacements waiting behind you. Praying you make a mistake.
If Oweh hopes to stick around in OKC, he needs to flex his defensive muscles. Pope believes he can do that. The 23-year-old categorized himself as a 'junkyard dog' on that end of the floor. Think the Thunder like the sound of that. His Kentucky head coach broke down his defensive playstyle.
"He's really physical and can do it without fouling. He's got a big chest. He's got unbelievable explosiveness and makeup ability. He's got an inherent physicality. He's one of those guys that is actually really familiar to OKC in terms of their backcourt defenders," Pope said. "But he is just at an elite level at handling a defensive assignment. It was fun to coach him. Because you can kind of take the best player off the board. And then play a four-on-four game defensively, schematically."
Oweh and Thunder are a perfect pairing
Every Thunder training camp, Mark Daigneault has invited college coaches to visit. The field trips serve as a meeting of the minds. You can develop groupthink if you're around the same group of people every day for most of the year. So bringing along college coaches is a nice change of pace. Pope was one of OKC's visitors last year.
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Reflecting on that one-day visit and just his general thoughts on how the Thunder operate things from an outsider's perspective, Pope believes Oweh is at the best spot to carve out an NBA career. The defense-first franchise can bring the most out of the defense-first player.
"OKC is clearly the gold standard right now in the NBA," Pope said. "To watch what Sam has done. I mean, he's so much into the culture. The culture is actually real for him in the way he operates. I think Mark has adopted that completely. I think that's why they're having the success. And then clearly that's been able to filter down to their superstar players."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire:
Exclusive: Mark Pope reflects on Otega Oweh's time at Kentucky, fit in OKC, plus more
