Offseason work with Mark Fox has helped Otega Oweh stay under control

The real work happens in the offseason. That sentiment certainly applies to Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh, who has been a pleasant surprise for the Big Blue Nation early into his career with the Wildcats.

After shining in Kentucky’s two exhibitions, Oweh has continued to perform against real competition. Through two regular-season games, he’s second on the team in scoring at 15.5 points per outing. He’s also averaging four rebounds and 2.5 steals per game to his stat line while shooting 60 percent from the field and 3-7 from deep. Granted, he went 0-4 from deep in game two after a 3-3 clip in game one, but everything else he does on the floor has looked the same.

Oweh was a talented player during his previous two seasons at Oklahoma, taking a major leap in production from his freshman to sophomore campaigns. But now he’s starting at Kentucky, where every play means a bit more than it did with the Sooners. Taking another leap as a junior was going to be necessary.

So far, we have seen those strides being taken. Head coach Mark Pope said after the season opener that it’s a product of the offseason work Oweh put in with associate coach Mark Fox.

“It’s interesting. As a player, there’s always this process about limiting your game just a little bit, just slightly, so that your game can expand massively. That process takes a ton of trust,” Pope said at the time. “Coach Fox has done an unbelievable job mentoring Otega. He spends a lot of time with Otega and Otega has done an unbelievable job trusting and being receptive. He’s simplified his game just a little bit in just a couple very specific areas and he’s become a brilliant decision-maker.“

During Monday’s pre-Duke press conference, I brought up that quote from Pope and asked Oweh which ways he’s simplified his game to grow in others. He mentioned two areas: playing off two feet and making better decisions, which go hand in hand.

“For me, it was playing off two (feet) more,” Oweh said. “Just being more under control, because naturally, when you’re an athlete, you just want to take off in certain situations where you could play off two. Keep your dribble. Just make better decisions when you’re making plays. That’s pretty much all it was. Just playing off two and making better decisions.“

By playing off two feet, Oweh means that he’s quite literally keeping himself grounded. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, it’s natural for him to want to go up and over his defenders. But playing off two feet more often allows him to survey his options. He’s not as rushed when having to make a decision.

Once a player leaves their feet, the shooting/passing options can become very limited. Oweh still uses his athleticism to his advantage and will still attack the rim off one foot, but his approach is much more calculated. He has just two assists this season, but zero turnovers through 46 minutes. He’s 9-13 on two-pointers.

“We drilled it every day. Before practice we always have skill work, at least like 20 minutes,” Oweh said of working with Coach Fox. “We just always working on those things.”

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