Mark Pope: "A lot of (Otega Oweh's) heart is back here at Kentucky."

Kentucky guard Otega Oweh during a press conference at the NCAA Tournament - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

Otega Oweh said after Kentucky’s season wrapped up in March that his time in Lexington has been “the most fun I’ve had playing basketball.” He came in as a productive player in the Big 12 and emerged as a legitimate superstar in the SEC, earning All-SEC Second Team honors after leading the Wildcats in scoring at 16.3 points per contest while hitting the double-figure mark in 33 of 36 games played.

What’s next for the 6-4 guard with one season of eligibility remaining? He didn’t enter the transfer portal, but did put his name in the 2025 NBA Draft to test the waters while also keeping a return to college open. It’ll be the pros or Lexington in 2025-26.

And if you ask Kentucky head coach Mark Pope, as hard as Oweh pushes toward his NBA dreams — something the staff embraces with open arms — there is a part of the star guard that still feels right at home in blue and white.

“Otega is going through this draft process, and we’re cheering for him every step of the way — but I know a lot of his heart is back here at Kentucky,” Pope told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Should he return to Lexington for a second season and one final year in college basketball, expectations are high — sky-high — in terms of what that would look like and who Oweh could be.

“If he does return, he will return as the presumptive SEC Player of the Year. Clearly, he’s got a beautiful future ahead of him.”

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Oweh was on the NBA’s list of 106 players who have filed as early entry candidates for the 2025 NBA Draft. He will have until Wednesday, May 28 to pull his name out of the draft and return to Kentucky.

What is Oweh’s current draft outlook? It favors a second season in Lexington (and the NIL money that would come with it), sitting at No. 77 overall in ESPN’s Jonathan Givony recent Big Board of the top 100 prospects in the field.

“To the best fans in the nation, the Big Blue Nation – Getting to play the game I love each day, knowing I have your support alongside my family and friends, has truly been a dream come true, and I am incredibly blessed,” Oweh announced back on April 15. “I’m taking the next step and have declared for the 2025 NBA Draft, while maintaining my NCAA eligibility.”

Hopefully he uses everything he learns from NBA teams over the next few weeks toward an SEC Player of the Year push in 2025-26 as the Wildcats look to hang banner No. 9.