When it comes to Mark Pope's tenure as the lead-man in Lexington thus far, Otega Oweh has been by far and away the most impactful Wildcat to arrive during that time. A handful of Pope-era players will define his first few years, but none to the extent of double zero.
Now, does that have something to do with his halfcourt shot in this past March Madness? To some extent, but the dude hit more clutch shots than I can count on one hands in his entire two seasons prior to that moment and, even given how things ended, he'll go down as a modern Kentucky legend with ease.
That naturally means that the Big Blue Nation will continue to chant his name as he transitions to the professional level. Although, entering the NBA Draft at the end of this month, it's hard to be sure exactly where Oweh will land.
Or perhaps, more accurately (and less fortunately), if he'll land at all.
Oweh's Disputed Draft Fate
After his first year at Kentucky (his junior year of college), Oweh tested the NBA Draft waters down to the final minute - much like Malachi Moreno and Milan Momcilovic both just did this time around.
And although he would come back and increase his scoring average in Lexington, the team's up-and-down year, as well as Oweh's own slow start, didn't do his draft stock any significant favors.
According to an updated mock draft from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, Oweh could be on the move to Brooklyn to the Nets at pick No. 43. Although, that selection is among the highest of Oweh's projections.
Many mock drafts have him falling into the 50-55 area, and a select few even have the former Cats forward going undrafted completely. We'd be mad for our guy, at that point. In what world is a guy averaging a 18/4/2 split at a blue blood not being picked at all?
Maybe I'm biased, but that seems like an outlandish fate.
A League of Second Chances
Even so, it's hard to predict exactly what any given team is looking for with any given selection. Factor in Oweh's generally streaky shooting and four-year arc in college, and it isn't hard to see how things could get hairy down the stretch.
But through the lens of a Kentucky fan that watched Oweh pretty much single-handedly win a dozen big games over the past two seasons, I'm confident he has a secure place on the next level in some capacity. As the night approaches, Cats fans will watch along in the hopes that this fan-favorite Kentuckian finds a way to achieve his NBA dream.
Oweh will always have a home in Lexington, either way.
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