Kentucky guards Otega Oweh and Koby Brea both got off to good starts in their first of two NBA Draft Combine scrimmages this week in Chicago, although they couldn’t keep it up the rest of the way.
In the first quarter of the opening game on Wednesday, Oweh (Team Lazare) was everywhere on defense and picking up easy points on offense. The defensive side of the ball is where he stood out, as his scoring production waned after halftime. As for Brea (Team Mueller), he was knocking down some shots early on, but he also cooled off after the opening period.
Dive in below to learn more about their performances. Oweh and Brea will return for their second and final scrimmages on Thursday afternoon.
Otega Oweh (Team Lazare): 104-80 W
You couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 5-on-5 scrimmages than what Oweh was able to do for Team Lazare.
While ESPN was busy trying to make Cooper Flagg’s deadpan personality interesting, Oweh was in the background scoring eight points on 3-3 shooting with a handful of deflections in just the first quarter. By the time the broadcast finally switched over to the game — you know, the event everyone tuned in to watch — we were able to catch Oweh contesting a jumpshot and quickly recovering to block an open layup.
Oweh did not score during his second-quarter stint, but continued to play great defense and turn that into easy offense for his team. In total, he saw about 10 minutes of first-half action. The ESPN broadcast crew even spent about two minutes during the game talking about Oweh’s positives and negatives as an NBA Draft prospect. He was a big topic of conversation.
It was a slower third-quarter segment from Oweh, who was still locked in on the defensive end but was maybe trying a bit too hard to show off his passing. The fourth quarter, which included an air-balled pull-up jumper, was his worst of the day. It was a great start, but a poor finish to the first of two scrimmages this week for Oweh.
In the end, he finished with 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-2 FT), three assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block, and one turnover in just 21 minutes of action as Team Lazare cruised to a 104-80 win over Team Domercant.
Also of note, before taking the floor, Oweh spent some time talking with ESPN about his stay-or-go decision. He has until May 28 to make a final decision. Oweh is not currently listed as a projected draft pick by most major outlets.
“The main thing for me is just finding the best situation,” Oweh said. “Obviously my goal is to play in the NBA. If I go through this whole process and I’m getting great feedback and I can go all the way, then I’ll do that, 100 percent. But either situation I’m in, it’s a great situation. I just got to thank God for it. I’ve got a good situation back at Kentucky if I do choose to go back. Either way, I’m just thankful to be here.”
Koby Brea (Team Mueller): 83-80 W
Much like his former Kentucky teammate, Koby Brea also got off to a solid start. While the rest of Team Mueller struggled to score, Brea was knocking down some pretty jumpers. In the first quarter, he dropped in five points off a three-pointer in transition and a sweet stepback jumper.
But it was admittedly a struggle the rest of the way. In the second quarter, Brea gave up a couple of (contested) three-pointers and was beaten off the dribble on another defensive possession. His outside shots weren’t falling in the second half. After his five-point first quarter, he failed to score the rest of the way.
Is it possible there were some impressive plays mixed in there? Of course! But once again, ESPN preferred to show the talking heads over the actual basketball being played for several minutes throughout this game. A large chunk of the fourth quarter (in a close game, mind you) was barely shown.
But despite that, we still have Brea’s final stat line: five points (2-8 FG; 1-7 3PT), two rebounds, one assist, and three turnovers in 25 minutes. Team Mueller even completed the comeback after trailing by as many as 19 points, pulling out the 83-80 win over Team Williams. Coming into today, Brea continued to trend as a second-round draft pick. It wasn’t a great all-around performance in his first scrimmage, but he was at least able to showcase some of his elite shooting ability.
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