Thursday Headlines: Otega Oweh and Jaland Lowe Watch Edition

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional-Kentucky at Tennessee — Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

The Cats continue to wait on the decisions of Oweh and Lowe to complete the roster

As Mark Pope and the Kentucky Basketball staff look to complete their roster for the upcoming season, The Wildcats are awaiting the final decision of two key pieces: Otega Oweh and Jaland Lowe.

The assumption has been that the two will return to Kentucky, setting the stage for Kentucky to have a deep, experienced, and talented group headed into the 25-26 campaign.

However, neither Oweh or Lowe have withdrawn from the NBA Draft, as the deadline looms next Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

There’s a belief out there that Oweh will make a decision at the deadline, which could create some anxiety for Kentucky fans who are counting on Oweh to be a key piece for the Wildcats.

We could be setting up for a situation like Hamidou Diallo a few years ago where we’re all collectively holding our breath into the early morning hours. Hopefully we don’t have a repeat of the Jaxson Robinson situation where we sat up that night and didn’t hear anything as the deadline came and went.

Oweh isn’t projected to be drafted in most mock drafts. That is subject to change, of course, depending on how workouts go, but financially, a return to Kentucky seems like it would be the best option along with the ability to work on his jump shot. round out his game, and be a key piece on a team with Final Four aspirations before entering the draft next year.

Lowe isn’t projected in mock drafts either, and it has long been the belief he will return to Kentucky. There hasn’t been much speculation on when an announcement could come. Maybe he waits until the deadline just to make sure he has all the information he needs as well.

I think Kentucky fans should probably plan on having Oweh and Lowe on the roster for next season, but if something was going to change, the next few days are likely when it would happen.