Tag: Otega Oweh

The Mark Pope era at Kentucky starts off with a blowout victory

Kentucky basketball begins the season with a win over Wright State 103 – 62 in Mark Pope’s first game as coach.

It’s a new era of Kentucky basketball under new coach Mark Pope, and his first season began on Monday night against Wright State. Like their exhibition games against Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota State, the Cats not only won, but did so in a big way, winning 103 – 62.

The Wildcats offense once again demonstrated just what their goal will be. They pushed the ball up the floor quickly, and shot the ball well from three-point range, leading to a lot of points.

Related: Class of 2025 guard Acaden Lewis commits to Kentucky

Otega Oweh led the way for Kentucky with 21 points. He was 3-of-3 on three-pointers. Koby Brea also shot it well, making 4-of-4 from deep, and scoring 18 points. Four other Wildcats were in double figures.

Amari Williams had a big game as well, with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Lamont Butler also did a bit of everything, with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Up next for Pope and Kentucky is Bucknell. That game will be on Saturday, November 9th. Congratulations to Coach Pope on his first win as Kentucky’s head coach.

Sooners forward Jalon Moore announces return for 2024-2025 season

Oklahoma Sooners basketball got a huge boost with Jalon Moore announcing his return for the 2024-2025 season.

It’s been another tumultuous offseason for Porter Moser and the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball program. They’ve had to be active once again in the transfer portal and have made several significant additions to the roster. One of the lingering decisions was that of [autotag]Jalon Moore[/autotag], who announced on Wednesday evening that he’s returning to the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2024-2025 season.

Moore, who had explored going on to the NBA, was one of the bright spots for the Sooners last season. He emerged as a consistent scoring threat with his athleticism and ability to finish around the bucket. There were stretches of the season where he was the Sooners best player.

He finished third on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game and led the Sooners in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game. He had 17 games in double figures, shooting an efficient 51.7% from the field and 41% from three. Moore was also third on the team in minutes at 25.6 per game.

Moore will likely have an expanded role as one of the few key rotation players returning this year.

The Sooners lost [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag], [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag], and [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] to the transfer portal and [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag] and [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] to graduation. Despite their additions, that’s a lot of turnover. Moore gives the Oklahoma Sooners minutes at both small and power forward spots and should see his minutes approach 30 a game in 2024-2025.

 

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Kentucky Wildcats basketball lands Oklahoma Sooners transfer Otega Oweh

Former Oklahoma wing Otega Oweh has committed to Kentucky basketball.

It could prove to be a big week for Kentucky basketball, with several players in the transfer portal visiting with new coach Mark Pope. After landing guard Lamont Butler on Friday, Pope gets another commitment on Saturday, this time from small forward Otega Oweh.

Oweh visited Kentucky on Thursday, and apparently it went well. The former Oklahoma Sooners wing player announced his decision on Instagram.

Last season, with the Sooners, Oweh averaged 11.4 points per game while shooting 37% from three-point range. In keeping with the defensive theme, he also is a solid perimeter defender, averaging 1.5 steals per game in the 2023-24 season.

Oweh came out of high school as a top 100 player, rated four stars. He’s got the strength to be a good rebounder, and the toughness to score in the paint.

The newest Wildcat will be a solid addition the roster, and is now the fifth commit to the 2024-25 squad. Big Blue Nation should be excited about this one.

Sooners guard Javian McCollum to enter the transfer portal

After leading the Oklahoma Sooners in scoring, Javian McCollum set to enter the tranfer portal. Another big portal loss for the Sooners.

The exodus continues for the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball program. After just missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the third season in a row, [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] and the Sooners have another rebuild ahead of them.

Oklahoma had already lost [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] and [autotag]Le’Tre Darthard[/autotag] to eligibility and have now lost [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag], [autotag]John Hugley[/autotag], and [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] to the portal. Well add Javian McCollum to the list of portal entries from Oklahoma as Joe Tipton of On3 reports McCollum will depart OU after just one season.

McCollum was a big addition for the Sooners, coming over after a nice career with Sienna. McCollum led Oklahoma in scoring at 13.3 points per game and also averaged 3.4 assists per game, sharing point guard duties with Uzan.

Though his time in Norman was short-lived, McCollum made an impact. He’ll be most remembered for the shot he hit against Oklahoma State at the buzzer to help the Sooners beat the Cowboys in overtime and secure the Bedlam sweep.

With McCollum gone, the Sooners have lost nearly 50 points per game in departures this offseason.

A third straight year of roster turnover will put a bigger spotlight on Moser and his staff as they prepare for their first season in the SEC.

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Oklahoma star Otega Oweh a transfer portal dream for UCLA

Otega Oweh an option for UCLA in the portal.

The UCLA Bruins are doing whatever they can to get the men’s basketball program back on track for the 2024-2025 season. The Bruins have reached out to a number of players in the portal.

Perhaps the biggest player on their radar is Oklahoma Sooners star Otega Oweh. Oweh entered the portal and has been contacted by a large number of programs, per Dylan Lutey. The programs that have expressed early interest in Oweh include Oregon, Illinois, BYU, Georgetown, Missouri, Wake Forest, Utah, Virginia Tech, Washington, Indiana, Xavier, and LSU along with the Bruins.

Milos Uzan and John Hugley are two other Sooners who entered the portal at the end of the season, so there are a lot of changes coming in Norman for the men’s team.

Oweh was the second-leading scorer for the Sooners at 11.2 PPG with 3.7 rebounds and had 16 points in the Sooners’ final game against TCU.

He just finished his sophomore campaign so he has a lot of eligibility left and will be an intriguing option in the portal.

Sooners forward John Hugley to enter transfer portal after one season in Norman

Former Pitt transfer John Hugley is back in the portal after just one year in Norman. Hugley was a big member of OU’s bench this season.

Oklahoma is looking down the barrel at another offseason when they must fill multiple holes via the transfer portal.

[autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag], a former four-star recruit, entered the transfer portal earlier this week after a sophomore season in Norman that saw him second in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game.

Another member of Oklahoma’s 2023-2024 team is entering the transfer portal, center John Hugley. Hugley averaged 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds on 54% shooting in 17.6 minutes per game. Hugley and Sam Godwin split duties as the top big men on Oklahoma’s roster this season.

Hugley was a staple of Oklahoma’s bench unit throughout the season and had some bright spots, especially during Big 12 play. However, foul trouble and a meniscus injury were direct reasons Hugley didn’t play more. He finished with three or more fouls in six of 11 contests.

Hugley transferred from Pittsburgh last spring and will now search for a new home.

For Oklahoma, this departure felt expected but still hurts. The Sooners should be a very active team in the transfer portal, with significant minutes needed to play on the wing vacated by Le’Tre Darthard (graduation), Otega Oweh (transfer), and Rivaldo Soares (graduation).

Now, with Hugley into the portal, the Sooners will be looking for another big man capable of usurping Godwin as a starter or providing at least 20 minutes off the bench.

Sooners guard Otega Oweh to enter the transfer portal

The Oklahoma Sooners are losing guard Otega Oweh to the transfer portal per reports.

The 2023-2024 Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball season went better than many expected. The Sooners worked their way into the top 10 and looked like a shoe-in for the NCAA Tournament until conference championship Saturday and Selection Sunday kept them out of the field of 68.

But as the Sooners fell short of the tournament for the third straight year under Porter Moser, transfer portal turnover will once again be a theme of the offseason.

According to On3Sports’ Joe Tipton, Sooners guard [autotag]Otega Oweh[/autotag] plans to enter the transfer portal.

In his second season with the Sooners, Oweh was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game. He shot 49.3% from the field and played an average of 24.8 minutes per game.

In his final game as a Sooner, Oweh put up 16 points in 31 minutes on 6 of 9 shooting in Oklahoma’s seven-point loss to TCU.

Otega Oweh’s an athletic guard that can get up and down the floor in transition. He does a great job at finishing around the basket. As he continued to develop his shooting touch away from the paint, he’ll become a dangerous player on the college basketball scene.

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Porter Moser speaks on turning down NIT invitation

Porter Moser talks about why the Oklahoma Sooners decided to not play in the NIT tournament.

On Sunday, the Oklahoma Sooners found out they would not be getting into the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag]. Shortly after that, it was announced they would not be playing in the [autotag]NIT[/autotag] either.

Porter Moser held a press conference on Tuesday where he talked about the devastation his team felt after being snubbed from the tournament. He also said they were given 10-15 minutes to decide if they wanted to participate in the NIT.

“It never was a thought,” Moser said. “It’s absolutely not to disparage the NIT. I think a storied tournament. That’s not to say some coaches wanted to start on the portal. That’s not where we were. It wasn’t even about those two things. I will coach until the last bounce that I can possibly coach and I told my guys that. I said I would coach; I would develop, I would compete for this school until the last bounce. So nobody can confer what it is. It was an incredible raw emotion that these kids had to make a decision in 15 minutes after heart-breaking news where some of the guys will never have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament again.”

That was particularly the case for [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag]. It was well documented how he had never made an NCAA Tournament and was using that as motivation. He was arguably playing like the Sooners’ best player at the end of the year but continued to battle an ankle injury.

Moser said he ultimately didn’t feel they’d have enough guys to field a team. Now the Sooners are back to where they were a year ago, trying to figure out how to build a team to make the NCAA Tournament while also going to a new conference.

How they respond to this will determine how good of a year they will have next season.

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Porter Moser speaks on the ‘devastation’ his team is feeling after NCAA Tournament snub

Porter Moser opens up about the Oklahoma Sooners feeling snubbed from the NCAA Tournament.

For the first time since taking over as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, [autotag]Porter Moser[/autotag] held a postseason press conference. This was in light of the Sooners missing the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

The Sooners and Moser felt they had a pretty compelling case to be in the NCAA Tournament, seeing they were 18-6 when fully healthy. But the committee thought otherwise, with Oklahoma as the first team out of the tournament.

More: Social media reacts to the Sooners NCAA Tournament snub

Moser spoke about what the last 48 hours have been like for his team.

“This is me speaking from the heart about our guys,” Moser said. “About the devastation and the hurt they are going through. Roughly a year ago today I was reminiscing with Los (Milos Uzan), Sam (Godwin) and Otega (Oweh) yesterday. A year ago today, when guys went into the portal, who were left were Yaya Keita, Luke Northweather, Sam Godwin, Otega Oweh, and Milos Uzan.  That was our roster after the portal. My incredible staff sat around and said we are going to build an NCAA Tournament team the right way with guys that represent Oklahoma.”

Moser went on to say they recruited a group of men that he would go to battle with at any time. He even admitted that every single day since Dec. 1, 2023, his young players would look at a bracket and Oklahoma would be in the field. The first time they looked up and were not included was Selection Sunday. Moser said he will not talk bad about other teams that got in and steal their joy but he will defend his team.

“I will talk about the complete hurt and how dumbfounded I am that Oklahoma was not included,” Moser said. “I have not been told a reason.”

There is no question Oklahoma surprised a ton of people by making a run at the tournament based on preseason projections. I think that is probably what hurts the most for this team, they felt they overachieved and made a run they felt was good enough.

But ultimately, they didn’t make it, which caused Moser to call the system “flawed” because of no consistency of why a team made it or didn’t make it.

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Were the Oklahoma Sooners snubbed from the NCAA Tournament?

The Oklahoma Sooners missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year but were they snubbed?

We’ve now had a couple of days to digest what went down on Selection Sunday. The Oklahoma Sooners found out they would not make the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag] and instead would be the first team left out.

They then declined to participate in the NIT tournament. But were the Sooners snubbed from being in the tournament? The short answer is, yes. The Sooners should have been over both the [autotag]Virginia Cavaliers[/autotag] and the Michigan State Spartans. Both of them got in due to their recent history in the NCAA Tournament in my opinion.

More: Social media reacts to Oklahoma Sooners NCAA Tournament Snub

Let’s look at Virginia first. Oklahoma had a higher net rating (46 to 54). They had more Quad 1 wins (4 to 2). Virginia went 21-3 in Quad 2-4 games. Oklahoma went 16-0. So, the things the committee claims to look at the most, Oklahoma was better than.

Now, let’s look at Michigan State. Michigan State did have the better net rating (24 to 46). But Oklahoma had more Quad 1 wins (4 to 3). Michigan State went 16-5 in Quad 2-4 games and as I said earlier, Oklahoma went 16-0.

If you want to argue Oklahoma played more Quad 1 games and that’s why they had more wins than both, that’s fine. But neither of the three had a good Quad 1 record.

But if you are Oklahoma and are upset by not getting in, don’t put it in the committee’s hands. Win one more game. Don’t blow a nine-point lead with 7:30 left against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Do what everyone in the conference but yourself and Oklahoma State did and beat the Kansas Jayhawks on your home court. Close out that close game against the No. 1 ranked Houston Cougars. Don’t lay an egg vs. an average at best [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] team.

The Sooners had their chances but ultimately left it up to other teams and the committee to decide their fate. When you do that, you have no one else to blame but yourself.

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