“In a Selfish Way…” What He Said Next Will Give You Chills
Otega Oweh appreciated the space Mark Pope gave him during the draft process — a rare kind of patience in today’s high-pressure world of college basketball. While Oweh traveled across the country for workouts and interviews with NBA teams, Pope wasn’t lighting up his phone. He was showing trust.
“Bombarding me with calls and texts, that’s not really his thing,” Oweh told KSR. “He would check up on me and come to my workouts — all of the coaches and staff did, actually. … Just to see how things were going.”
That trust paid off in a big way.
Just hours before the withdrawal deadline, Oweh called Pope — from a plane — and told him he was coming back to Lexington. The emotional moment nearly got Pope thrown off the flight.
Tears were shed. Hearts were full. And Big Blue Nation got its star back.
“Being honest, almost like three days before or maybe two days before, I already knew what it was,” Oweh said. “I was just waiting for the last workout to tell him.”
And when he did, he made it official with a message that instantly lit up Kentucky fan feeds: “Back Better Now.”
“It was just a cool little message,” Oweh said. “I was thinking about it, and it just popped up. It was kind of symbolic to what I wanted this year to be.”
He continued: “I want to take that jump. I had a good year last year, but I want to get better and continue to improve. And then on top of that, just hoping BBN embraces me.”
Mark Pope didn’t hesitate to embrace him back.
“In a really selfish way, it’s such a gift to be able to kind of mentor these guys through this growing process,” Pope told KSR in his first public comments since Oweh’s return. “To have another year to watch him continue growing? He’s gonna face new and different challenges this year. He’s coming in as a marked man, right? And with a ton of leadership responsibility on his shoulders.”
Oweh will be the face of the locker room — and maybe even the SEC. Pope sees it, the team sees it, and now the fans get to witness it.
“To get to witness him grow through this next step in his evolution is a gift. That’s the best part,” Pope added. “He’s going to grow — he’s going to grow exponentially again, and he’s going to help us win a ton of games. He’s going to play great basketball and he’s going to put himself in even better position to be a pro.”
“Being able to watch that up close and be a part of that? That’s the best part.”
Otega is back. Kentucky’s loaded. And Mark Pope is all in.
