Bio Blast: Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh

Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh was in Lexington on Thursday for an official visit to Kentucky. The rising junior is being hosted by head coach Mark Pope and his new batch of assistants.

Pope and Co. treated Oweh to a Keeneland trip earlier in the day and could be on the cusp of landing a commitment from the New Jersey native. KSR’s Matt Jones reports that a decision could come “soon” for Oweh, who is also being courted by Oregon and Texas A&M. Oweh has already visited both the Ducks (April 19) and Aggies (April 23). Those two visits were made public ahead of time — the one to UK was a surprise.

Kentucky is certainly in a good spot with the 6-foot-5, 215-pound shooting guard, who will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Could get a decision soon https://t.co/DrwZR3hf0T

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 25, 2024

With a decision imminent and Kentucky among the clear frontrunners, what does the Big Blue Nation need to know about Oweh if he ultimately lands with the Wildcats? Let’s find out by going back a few years first.

Oweh was a four-star recruit from the class of 2022 and was rated No. 76 overall by the On3 Industry Ranking. He suited up for Blair Academy (Blairstown, NJ) in high school and played for Team Final (PA) on the AAU circuit — the same EYBL program that has recently produced the likes of Jalen Duren, Dereck Lively II, and Justin Edwards.

Random side note: Oweh’s older brother, Odafe Oweh, is a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens.

As a rising high school senior, Oweh helped lead Team Final to the 17U Peach Jam title in 2021 and was named Nike EYBL Peach Jam Breakout Player of the Session after posting per-game averages of 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 assists throughout the summer. Alongside Lively and Duren, Oweh dropped 17 points in Team Final’s 64-61 Peach Jam championship win over Brad Beal Elite.

Oweh eventually committed to Oklahoma in Oct. 2021, signing with the Sooners and first-year head coach Porter Moser later that month. He chose OU over Penn State and Illinois. An official visit to Norman a month prior to his decision sealed the deal.

Upon arrival at Oklahoma as a freshman for the 2022-23 season, Oweh got off to a slow start. He came off the bench in his first 19 games for the Sooners. Across his initial 14 games, he averaged just seven minutes per contest. But Coach Moser soon gave Oweh a longer leash. His minutes steadily increased right as conference play in the Big 12 began to ramp up.

Despite Oweh still coming off the pine for games 15-19 of the season, his playing time jumped to 14 per contest during that mini-stretch. He made his debut as a starter on Feb. 8, 2023, on the road against Baylor, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds on 5-10 shooting in 21 minutes of action. Oweh did not leave Moser’s starting five for the rest of the season

Oweh finished his freshman campaign with averages of 4.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 13.2 minutes per game. He started just nine of the 28 contests he appeared in, but his season can effectively be cut into two.

• First 14 games of ’22-23: 2.1 points, one rebound, and 0.7 steals in seven minutes per outing on shooting splits of 47.4/–/57.1
• Final 14 games of ’22-23: 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 20 minutes per outing on shooting splits of 43.7/25/69.2

Oweh’s development continued into the 2023 offseason and carried over into the 2023-24 season. He started 28 of 32 games played for Oklahoma this past season, averaging 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, one assist, and 1.5 steals in 24.9 minutes per outing. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor, 37.7 percent from deep (1.7 attempts per game), and 64.3 percent from the charity stripe.

On three occasions did Oweh score at least 20 points, including a career-high 23 against North Carolina back in December. He reached double-figures in 19 games, posting one double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals in a win over West Virginia) along the way. Oweh registered at least two steals in 12 games, at least three in seven games, and even had a seven-steal performance against Green Bay.

Arguably his biggest moment from last season was a put-back game-winner against then-No. 23 Southern California back in November. The go-ahead bucket moved Oklahoma to 6-0 for the first time since the Buddy Hield era.

OH MY OTEGA 🤯#BoomerSooner ☝ | @OtegaOweh pic.twitter.com/jlQ5SPFqZd

— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) November 24, 2023

Of note, Oweh’s three-point shooting took a significant leap from year one to year two. He went just 1-4 from deep as a freshman to 20-53 as a sophomore, although that figure is slightly misleading — he shot just 20.6 percent on 1.9 attempts per game across his 18 Big 12 contests.

As a team, Oklahoma improved from a 15-17 (5-13 Big 12) record in Oweh’s first season to 20-12 (8-10 Big 12) in season two. However, he elected to look elsewhere going into 2024-25 and entered his name into the portal on March 25. He’s ranked as the 10th-best shooting guard to enter the portal this offseason by On3.

Oweh generates the majority of his scoring opportunities by getting in the paint and attacking the rim. With a wide frame and plenty of muscle, he’s among the country’s best at drawing fouls and getting to the line when he has a full head of steam driving toward the basket.

He can be a bit limited outside of the lane and isn’t the most skilled playmaker, but his strength allows him to make things happen on offense. That strength translates well to the defensive end, where Oweh can guard multiple positions on or off the ball and has a knack for playing passing lanes. His steal percentage of 3.5 in ’23-24 ranked among the top 100 players in the country, per KenPom.

Learn more about Oweh’s on-court game through the video below.