Kentucky basketball needs to bench Otega Oweh now

Few players in recent Kentucky history could drop 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and still walk out of the arena with fans calling for them to be benched. That’s where we’re at with Otega Oweh.

On paper, his Gonzaga line doesn’t look like part of a 35-point loss. But when you actually watch what’s happening, the possessions he takes off, the defensive breakdowns, the body language, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Kentucky needs to send a very loud message.

Otega Oweh’s numbers look fine but the film screams something else

One sequence from the Gonzaga game says everything.

Jaland Lowe misses a three. Oweh is in decent rebounding position at first but gets boxed out. OK, fine. It happens. Then he jogs back on defense, his man trailing a few steps behind. Around the hash mark, Oweh’s eyes lock onto the ball instead of his assignment. His man slips right behind him for an uncontested layup. Oweh never recovers, never sprints, never even looks like he realizes what just happened.

And then he trots back on offense like nothing’s wrong.

This isn’t new. You’ve said it before and it keeps showing up on film: Oweh gets backdoored at least once every game, loses focus off the ball, and is often late or absent on help-side rotations. He’ll occasionally jump a passing lane, but that doesn’t erase how often he gets caught staring.

Defensively, he’s a liability. That would be frustrating on any roster. On this roster, which was supposedly built to be more physical and better on that end, it becomes unforgivable.

The concern goes beyond the tape. The body language has been brutal:

• The apparent eye-roll as Mark Pope speaks at a press conference was doubtful, but when you pair it when the rest, you can actually make a case he was doing it.
• The yawning, the slumped shoulders coming off the floor down 30.
• The lack of communication on defense, especially from a guy who’s supposed to be a veteran tone-setter.

This was the senior who came back to help carry Kentucky into a new era, the guy who was supposed to bring edge and stability. Instead, he’s become a walking contradiction: solid box scores, but an energy drain.

Meanwhile, Kentucky is 5–4, 0–4 against real opponents, and getting booed off the floor in a building that was 95 percent Kentucky fans. If that doesn’t shake something loose, what will?

At some point, accountability has to mean more than words. If losing by 30-plus isn’t enough to spark Oweh, maybe the only thing left is the bench. Not as a permanent exile, but as a reset:

“Your role is earned. Your minutes are earned. And effort is non-negotiable.”

Kentucky doesn’t just need better shooting or cleaner sets. It needs leaders who are fully locked in. Right now, Otega Oweh doesn’t look like one of them, he has even admitted it; and that’s exactly why Mark Pope has to at least think about sitting him down.