When Dick Vitale speaks, the college basketball world listens — and this week, he had some high praise for Kentucky’s Otega Oweh.
Vitale, the legendary ESPN voice of the game, unveiled his 2025-26 Preseason All-Rolls Royce Teams, a nod to the most polished and luxurious players in the nation. And yes, the Wildcats’ senior guard earned his spot on the list.
Oweh landed on the Second Team, but in true Dickie V fashion, the broadcaster didn’t hold back his excitement.
“Big Blue Nation loves this guy,” Vitale said. “He’s strong, explosive, and clutch. He hit not one, but TWO game-winners last year. He’s the Wildcats’ Rolls Royce slasher.”
That’s a comparison that comes with weight — Vitale doesn’t hand out “Rolls Royce” tags lightly. He compares these players to luxury cars for a reason: they combine performance, reliability, and elegance, all at the highest level.
Who Else Made the Cut?
Oweh isn’t alone among college basketball’s elite. Vitale’s First and Second Teams feature 10 players across the country who he believes will dominate this season:
First Team
PJ Haggerty (Kansas State)
Braden Smith (Purdue)
JT Toppin (Texas Tech)
Graham Ike (Gonzaga)
Bennett Stirtz (Iowa)
Second Team
Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue)
Donovan Dent (UCLA)
Nick Martinelli (Northwestern)
Emanuel Sharp (Houston)
Otega Oweh (Kentucky)
Vitale also dropped his Diaper Dandies — a list of the nation’s top newcomers, which includes familiar recruiting names like Darryn Peterson (Kansas), A.J. Dybantsa (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), and Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville).
Why Oweh Belongs
It’s no surprise Vitale picked Oweh. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope has already said he believes his senior guard can be the best defensive player in the country — while also growing into an elite playmaker.
“He’s going to grow — he’s going to grow exponentially again, and he’s going to help us win a ton of games,” Pope told KSR earlier this summer. “He’s going to play great basketball and put himself in even better position to be a pro.”
Now Oweh has a preseason honor to match those expectations, with many projecting him as an early candidate for SEC Player of the Year.
One thing’s clear: when Dickie V calls you a “Rolls Royce,” you’re not just another car on the lot — you’re top of the line.
