going to be all about where his heart is.”
Pope believes Kentucky will be fine either way, adding that “what is best for Otega is going to be best for Kentucky.” If he returns to Lexington, it means he’s ready to be the face of the SEC and maybe even all of college basketball next season, helping the Wildcats in their push for banner No. 9. If he doesn’t, it means he’s ready for the ultimate challenge of proving himself on the world stage against the best players in the sport — and he’ll certainly represent the program well.
He just doesn’t want any what-ifs about the draft if Oweh does decide to pull his name out. If he runs it back in Lexington, he needs to be all in.
Pope is confident he would be, in that case.
“He’s been dreaming about playing in the NBA for a long time,” he told The Cats’ Pause. “So if he thinks, ‘This is my moment and I gotta go,’ then he has to go. That’s what we want for him. … If he feels like, ‘My heart is telling me I got unfinished business at Kentucky and I want to run this back, and that’s where my passion is, and I’ll go grow my game and improve my draft stock,’ then he needs to come back.Will Otega Oweh return to Kentucky for one final season of college basketball or keep his name in the NBA draft in hopes of turning his professional dreams into a reality? He has until 11:59 p.m. ET to make that call ahead of the withdrawal deadline, a decision that could give the Wildcats the likely Preseason SEC Player of the Year or force Mark Pope and his staff to creatively fill that hole with limited options to work with at this stage.
With Oweh, you can pencil in Kentucky as a legitimate title contender. Without him? Well, the Cats can still get there — it’d just be a bit trickier without that All-SEC safety net to fall back on.
How is Pope handling the decision, now down to hours rather than days? He’s giving him the space he needs to make the best decision for his future, limiting their conversations to text messages while waiting for an answer like the rest of us. At the end of the day, he wants Oweh to follow his heart, even if it means turning down another year in college for the pros.But this is a decision that’s gonna depend on his ticker, because that’s what’s gonna carry him through the next year.”
There is no rush for Oweh, no pushing on Pope’s part to receive the answer we’re all impatiently waiting for. One way or another, he’s going to be proud of his star guard for all they accomplished together and what he will accomplish in basketball down the road — whether that includes another year at Kentucky or not.
“Otega has earned this right to make the decision,” Pope continued. “He’s an incredibly special person with an incredibly bright future and I’m just excited to help in any way that I can with him to look deep inside himself and find out what he wants to wear.”
One workout separates Oweh from his draft decision ahead of the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline. What will it be?
