OWEH is a MASSIVE problem, go back and watch the tape.

bleedsblue5

Senior
Jul 1, 2025
408
874
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If I was a youtuber or big video editor I could post 10-12 plays Oweh cost us without much effort and if I dug I gaurantee there is more.
Him cheating to get steals works a few times but it puts the WHOLE team out of position SO MANY TIMES.
There is the out of bounds play and more, he is blaming others and pointing fingers all the while only really putting in true work when it benifits him.

In the end this is on the Pope and the staff to fix. He either gets to work and plays hard both ends or we play scrubs until next year.

The way he treated the TN player at the end of that game is how he is treating our players also, just plain disrespect.
 

Anony Moose

Senior
Dec 2, 2025
668
834
93
Can someone please convince @kyjeff1 of this. He is convinced the only way forward is more Oweh, or at least the same amount. We can't try other players because they suck, too. We have to keep Oweh, who he agrees also sucks, but we must rely on him evidently or else we might....suck.
 
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bleedsblue5

Senior
Jul 1, 2025
408
874
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All that said, even with him being a problem when he was out we did give up 3 or 4 wide open 3s. So it is possible the whole DEFENSIVE plan is just crap and OWEH knows it and decides to do his own thing.

Just like everyone else I like Pope as a person, he just does not have a team that will GET AFTER IT ever play because that is not who HE IS nor how he will teach.
 

K_TIME

Heisman
Jan 2, 2003
18,372
25,644
113
1. The entire team is a problem...to peg Oweh only is simply not reality.
2. Oweh is our leading scorer, not quite as efficient as last year shooting wise, his assist and steals are up
3. I do notice his help side rotation on defense at times is a mess...but I also see him put his nose in there for rebounds and 50/50 balls...only Diabate shows more grit on boards.

All in all, he's a below average shooter that thrived on a team that could space the floor....but it's not his fault Aberdeen, Lowe are not quality PG, we have no stretch 4 at all (Ielly is shooting 20% from deep), and we don't have any shooter in teh same hemisphere of Koby Brea..and Amari Williiams was an excellent passing C/playmaker.

I don't get the hate on Otega...he's by far the best player on a bad team. THis is on Pope/Mitch for assembling the coach and team that is a failure. As far as players blame....I'd easily put guys like Lowe, Garrison, Quantenance, Jelly and a one dimensional Diabate as more to blame for this season.

But guys like Moreno, Oweh, as leading the team.
 

Chadrock

All-Conference
Jul 12, 2004
2,993
1,977
103
Maybe he’d be better coming off the bench? That way, he’d ingest some discipline and be better for his team mates…maybe become a spark.
 

Wildcat_in_DC

Senior
Nov 25, 2025
663
906
93
the problem is that the players around oweh suck

shooting stats:
jelavic 1-5
moreno 1-2
chandler 1-6
noah 1-5
johnson 1-5

imagine being the only decent player and your teammates constantly screw up on both ends of the court. if folks want oweh to be less selfish maybe the other players should actually compete and step up.....
 

Farsight Clone

All-Conference
Aug 30, 2025
2,444
4,619
103
After looking back, I think there are 4 contributing factors of why this team has zero chemistry.

Oweh -> His first half of year he had a massive attitude and effort problem. Overcame that, went back to that. Gets in team faces and blames them.

BG -> Also blames over teammates and has no effort. Lacks awareness and thinks he's hot shiz when he does two good plays (see his insta post after we lost a few games back)

Mo D -> Also gets in teammates faces and argues with teammates. (However, he does try)

Aberdeen -> I think he was a self proclaimed leader and it conflicted with the team. I don't think DA is a d*ck like Oweh or Mo D, but the self proclaimed leader is an issue.

These are just observations based off pattern recognition from this year.

It should be up to Pope to fix it. The fact that this is still a thing at this time of the year shows Pope can't handle it. It's sad, but him and Mitch need to go.
 

Wildcat_in_DC

Senior
Nov 25, 2025
663
906
93
After looking back, I think there are 4 contributing factors of why this team has zero chemistry.

Oweh -> His first half of year he had a massive attitude and effort problem. Overcame that, went back to that. Gets in team faces and blames them.

BG -> Also blames over teammates and has no effort. Lacks awareness and thinks he's hot shiz when he does two good plays (see his insta post after we lost a few games back)

Mo D -> Also gets in teammates faces and argues with teammates. (However, he does try)

Aberdeen -> I think he was a self proclaimed leader and it conflicted with the team. I don't think DA is a d*ck like Oweh or Mo D, but the self proclaimed leader is an issue.

These are just observations based off pattern recognition from this year.

It should be up to Pope to fix it. The fact that this is still a thing at this time of the year shows Pope can't handle it. It's sad, but him and Mitch need to go.
you forgot to mention:
  • chandler cant play
  • the kentucy kids are not UK caliber.
these 2 points are 50% of the roster....
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
50,486
70,688
113
Can someone please convince @kyjeff1 of this. He is convinced the only way forward is more Oweh, or at least the same amount. We can't try other players because they suck, too. We have to keep Oweh, who he agrees also sucks, but we must rely on him evidently or else we might....suck.
The problem is, the players you want to give his minutes to, are far worse than Oweh, no matter how bad he plays.

It amazes me how you overlook all the mistakes JJ, CC and TN make, but focus on any negative thing Oweh does.

The whole team stunk last night, not 1 single player brought the effort, but for some reason, you focus only on Oweh.

You literally want to go to Arkansas, bench Oweh and put Noah, Chandler and JJ out there to guard Acuff, Thomas, Wagner, Knox and Richmond. Yeah, that sounds like a fantastic idea. 🤨
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
50,486
70,688
113
1. The entire team is a problem...to peg Oweh only is simply not reality.
2. Oweh is our leading scorer, not quite as efficient as last year shooting wise, his assist and steals are up
3. I do notice his help side rotation on defense at times is a mess...but I also see him put his nose in there for rebounds and 50/50 balls...only Diabate shows more grit on boards.

All in all, he's a below average shooter that thrived on a team that could space the floor....but it's not his fault Aberdeen, Lowe are not quality PG, we have no stretch 4 at all (Ielly is shooting 20% from deep), and we don't have any shooter in teh same hemisphere of Koby Brea..and Amari Williiams was an excellent passing C/playmaker.

I don't get the hate on Otega...he's by far the best player on a bad team. THis is on Pope/Mitch for assembling the coach and team that is a failure. As far as players blame....I'd easily put guys like Lowe, Garrison, Quantenance, Jelly and a one dimensional Diabate as more to blame for this season.

But guys like Moreno, Oweh, as leading the team.
Exactly. I can't believe so many are focused on just Oweh. The entire team stunk. Nobody played with effort, that points to a bigger problem.
Oweh looked frustrated to me last night and I would be too.
The team is never prepared to start games, it happened last year and it has happened in every power 5 game this year.
I'm not sure why Oweh is getting all the blame here, the entire team mailed it in and Pope stood there, arms crossed, like he was on a stroll in the park. Pope is the problem, not Oweh.
 

BBNinSCar

All-Conference
Apr 23, 2013
1,372
2,180
81
Except against Oklahoma.
This years’ Oweh is not the same as last years’ Oweh. Something happened in there somewhere. I believe he was way over-valued and over-hyped and it went to his head. He is the main problem with this team.
 
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kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
50,486
70,688
113
Oweh is our best player .

And that is the problem . He’s a very good 3rd option . Solid 2nd option . If he’s your first option good luck.
Exactly. Oweh is by far our best player, he has the most potential, but we have idiots that think Noah, Chandler and Jasper are better options. I can't laugh any harder at that.
 

Anony Moose

Senior
Dec 2, 2025
668
834
93
The problem is, the players you want to give his minutes to, are far worse than Oweh, no matter how bad he plays.

It amazes me how you overlook all the mistakes JJ, CC and TN make, but focus on any negative thing Oweh does.

The whole team stunk last night, not 1 single player brought the effort, but for some reason, you focus only on Oweh.

You literally want to go to Arkansas, bench Oweh and put Noah, Chandler and JJ out there to guard Acuff, Thomas, Wagner, Knox and Richmond. Yeah, that sounds like a fantastic idea. 🤨
That would only be true to someone sucking him off. Several of them are better.

Where have I ever overlooked their mistakes? Point that out!

Sure they did. Noah played hard, Chandler played hard, Mo D played hard. Moreno gave effort. Aberdeen fought hard. Were they great? Nope! But they at least fought and gave effort.

I focus on Oweh because it's clear to almost everyone he is an issue. He is a cancer who gives no effort other than to pad his stats.

I want to bench him or just cut his minutes by 10ish? Not like he does much in most first half of games anyways.

It does! We will lose regardless. Less at least play the players who give effort and positive energy. Who knows...maybe it will light a fire in Oweh's ***.
 

BBNinSCar

All-Conference
Apr 23, 2013
1,372
2,180
81
1. The entire team is a problem...to peg Oweh only is simply not reality.
2. Oweh is our leading scorer, not quite as efficient as last year shooting wise, his assist and steals are up
3. I do notice his help side rotation on defense at times is a mess...but I also see him put his nose in there for rebounds and 50/50 balls...only Diabate shows more grit on boards.

All in all, he's a below average shooter that thrived on a team that could space the floor....but it's not his fault Aberdeen, Lowe are not quality PG, we have no stretch 4 at all (Ielly is shooting 20% from deep), and we don't have any shooter in teh same hemisphere of Koby Brea..and Amari Williiams was an excellent passing C/playmaker.

I don't get the hate on Otega...he's by far the best player on a bad team. THis is on Pope/Mitch for assembling the coach and team that is a failure. As far as players blame....I'd easily put guys like Lowe, Garrison, Quantenance, Jelly and a one dimensional Diabate as more to blame for this season.

But guys like Moreno, Oweh, as leading the team.
Oweh is the main problem with this roster. His on-court demeanor is one of the worst I’ve ever seen in a Kentucky player. I believe he is competing with some of his teammates that were upperclassmen portal additions. He’s also giving negative energy to the younger players and has never shown any leadership ability.
Pope’s main failure has been his inability to keep Oweh’s ego in check.
This team would improve if Oweh were kicked off the squad today.
 

BigBluefoot

All-American
Jul 4, 2025
1,545
6,286
113
There is no single player that explains all the issues with this team. When they all seem to be an issue, coaching is the issue. Almost every bad year under Stoops or Calipari would be explained away as player A or player B being a "cancer" in the locker room. Then we would have the same lack of discipline issues the following season with mostly different players. Attitude or character issues disrupting team performance is an indictment of the coach who let's it go on.
 
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3 Putts

All-Conference
Apr 25, 2025
940
2,039
92
Oweh comes off like he only cares about himself. He plays selfishly and his stats feel empty. Yea, he scores 20 a lot but it never really feels like he’s making the team better.
He was 7-19 last night at a 36% clip and 2-6 from 3. He and Aberdeen took 34 shots last night while the rest of the team combined took 25. They’re selfish and are gonna get there’s no matter what the cost, one reason we look so discombobulated on offense. Lazy AF on D also.
 

CatBearPig

All-Conference
Apr 26, 2024
694
1,454
93
Oweh is a solid starter on a final 4 team. The problem is he’s supposed to be our star. Taking his minutes would be about the worst coaching decision a person could make. Jasper is more selfish, worse on defense and smaller. Chandler is less physical and can’t create a shot that’s not a 25 footer.
 

wccat

All-American
Apr 8, 2009
5,267
7,998
66
Who was smoking the good stuff when they voted him pre season SEC player of the year?
I am a UK fan and even I laughed when I saw him voted Preseason SEC POY. He doesn't have a handle and scared the crap out of me everytime he dribbles just like DA and CC. There are times you can see that he is going to take the shot and there is zero chance he is going to pass it or get into any type of offense. Of course the same can be said for DA and CC. Last night especially they reverted back to 'hero ball' or 'I am getting mine'. It is obvious Pope can do nothing about it. I just can't see Pitino standing for this. I do believe RP sat his bet player in the NCAA tournament.

Poorly constructed $22 million team that Pope hasn't coached well and apparently can't control or motivate. The worst thing you can say about a team is they didn't seem motivated. There are games that they haven't even been competitive and that should never happen at UK. Don't have confidence in Pope for next season and going forward.
 
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Drcatfan

All-Conference
Apr 14, 2015
1,401
1,581
61
Oweh is a solid starter on a final 4 team. The problem is he’s supposed to be our star. Taking his minutes would be about the worst coaching decision a person could make. Jasper is more selfish, worse on defense and smaller. Chandler is less physical and can’t create a shot that’s not a 25 footer.
I agree. Oweh is obviously trying to do too much, but that's because he has no other option. He is our only player that could/should start on a top 25 team. We have a bunch of 6th and 7th men depth.
 

TNCatfanforever

Heisman
Apr 3, 2003
21,974
13,702
62
I’m not totally convinced he isn’t point shaving.
The pregame statement about money really worries me how do you make that inbound pay? You gotta be kidding me you can’t have a team that goes from beating Tennessee playing so well at times looking like they did last night point shaving and cheating is a serious charge. Let’s just hope not. If so, it’s time to shut down the program Mark Pope I think is a great man, but he is not strong enough to handle these young men. We need a Bruce Pearl immediately.
 

Drogon

All-Conference
Mar 14, 2017
1,693
2,228
113
I think it's pretty simple honestly


When you play middle of the road teams who, like you, don't have a legit PG(well talk about Gillespie and UT in a moment) they're going to be inefficient/inconsistent throughout the season

Now, Tennessee. They do have an outstanding PG. They also have a top freshmen. They get/got theirs. Tennessee's problem is a lot like ours. Jaylen Carey is their Mo D. Okpara isn't much better, if at all, than Moreno. The rest of their team lacks offensive players andd as a whole I'd say are less talented than us. Sure, tthey can step up against like competition, but like Kentucky they will be very inefficient/inconsistent throughout the season.


On top of this, who do we really have as a leader. Certainly not Oweh. Aberdeen has been on a title team, but he wasn't the leader of that team. Clayton was. Martin, Richard, Condon were. Mo D is a hard-nosed player, but he's not a leader. Chandler? He's still playing catch-up from being away from the game nearly a couple years. Next year, and as a Senior, who knows. It's just not right now.


Jaland Lowe is a leader. He's run a team. Problem is, doing it from the bench just isn't quite the same. He can help the guards, but they aren't going to see things on the court and process them as fast as he can.


Outside of Oweh, Aberdeen, Mo D, and Garrison there really isn't that much college basketball experience available to us. There are other flaws as well, but lacking a true PG and overall leader are the two biggest ones, imo.
 
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