Men's Basketball

Davion Mintz Asks the Question, “Oscar to the Rafters in Rupp?”

Published

3 years ago

April 4, 2022

Photos by Chet White | UK Athletics

In just one season, Oscar Tshiebwe has left a lasting impression on the Big Blue Nation and the Kentucky basketball record books, but is it enough to put his jersey in the rafters?

Let’s have this talk 👀 … Oscar to the rafters in Rupp ?— Davion Mintz (@deemintz1) April 4, 2022

There are 38 players with their jerseys hanging in the Rupp Arena rafters, let’s compare “Big O” to the other 38 and see where he adds up after one season.

Stats

In terms of games, with only 34, Tshiebwe would have played the least amount of any player to have their jersey retired. The same could be said for his career totals as they are low in comparison after playing only one season. However, in terms of averages, Tshiebwe holds up with the best of them.

In rebounding, which is Oscar’s expertise, he ranks second all-time with 15.2 rebounds per game, only behind Dan Issel’s 16.1. Pointwise, he would rank 11th with 17.4 points per game, ahead of names like Jack Givens, Kenny Walker, Tony Delk, and others.

While averaging a double-double, Tshiebwe raked in 28 of them, which is a Kentucky single-season record and places him top-10 all-time in Kentucky basketball history.

The total career totals may not be up to par, but the averages are and one has to consider the fact that in the current landscape, high-level college players don’t stay three or four years anymore.

Check out the statistical comparison spreadsheet here.

Accolades

As of writing this article, Tshiebwe has won five of the six Player of the Year awards, with the John R. Wooden Award set to be announced on April 5th. Currently, the frontrunner for the Wooden award, if Tshiebwe were to win, he would become the ONLY Kentucky Wildcat to be unanimous Player of the Year.

In his flurry of awards, Tshiebwe became the 21st Consensus First Team All-American in Kentucky basketball history. Of the twenty previous players, fifteen of them have their jerseys retired, with the five exclusions all being in the last 25 years: Ron Mercer (1997), John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012), Willie Cauley-Stein (2015), and Tyler Ulis (2016).

In just one season, Tshiebwe has filled his trophy cabinets full and created a track record that puts himself not just in the elite of Kentucky basketball history, but college basketball history.

Impact

Oscar Tshiebwe has had as much impact on and off the court of any Kentucky player in recent memory.

On the court, Tshiebwe’s impact is shown with some historic numbers. For the below examples we are only looking at his career at Kentucky.

In win shares per 40 minutes, a statistic that divvies credit individually for a team’s success, Tshiebewe recorded a .297 this past season. This ranked second in the NCAA and would put him only behind Nikola Jokić in the NBA Another impact stat, plus-minus, he recorded a 13.3, putting him 5th in NCAA. (Basketball-Reference)

*_{Win Shares is a player statistic that attempts to divvy up credit for team success to the individuals on the team.}
**_{Plus-Minus, a.k.a. +/-, simply keeps track of the net changes in the score when a given player is either on or off the court.}

While both of these statistical categories have only started recently being recorded in the last 15 years, they are some of the best ways to quantify a player’s impact on the court, and the numbers show that Tshiebwe’s impact cannot be understated.

Off the court, Tshiebwe has been a tremendous ambassador for the program and someone that people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond can look up to.

One such example is one that he had with Beaumont Middle School, a school in Lexington with sixteen students from Tshiebwe’s home country of Africa. During his visits to the school, Tshiebwe was able connections to with the students, and they were shown that they can be successful in America. See the story here.

It is a tough decision, but the sport has changed and successful players rarely stay three or four years anymore and he has the averages and accolades to compare to any player in program history. With that said, if Tshiebwe were to return to Kentucky for a second season and put up similar numbers, I think at that point it’s a no-brainer.

What do you think? Who are some other recent players you think should have their jersey retired?

Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Declares for NBA Draft, Maintains College Eligibility

Arguably the centerpiece of last year’s team, Otega Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft… but that doesn’t mean he’s officially gone.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2025

Lane Mills

Otega Oweh declares for the NBA Draft whilst maintaining his college eligibility.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Few players have taken the Big Blue Nation by storm like Otega Oweh did with his arrival this past season. A lot was new in Lexington last year, but #00 stuck out for a number of reasons; namely, his infectious energy on the court and the high odds that he was going to put an opponent on a poster on any given night.

Now, Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft. He made the announcement on social media, calling Kentucky fans the “best fans in the world.”

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A post shared by To God Be The Glory💕 (@otegaoweh)

While this may seem dire for folks keeping tabs on next year’s roster, that last line in Oweh’s announcement is crucial: “…while maintaining my NCAA eligibility.” Essentially, Otega’s time in Lexington is far from over, at least for the time being.

Whether or not “Tegatron” returns to Rupp will likely depend on what he hears during the draft process, and where exactly he wants to land. In the modern college basketball landscape, it’s become common practice for players to “test the waters” in the draft, just to get an idea as to where they stand with the league, before returning to college for another year of development.

Take, for example, Jaxson Robinson just last season. Before his eventual transfer to Kentucky, Robinson declared for the draft out of BYU, maintaining his eligibility, before pulling from the process in order to spend his senior year at Kentucky. It happens all the time.

While that doesn’t necessarily set Oweh’s return in stone, it at least gives the Big Blue Nation to take a breather and keep calm, as his departure is far from official. Either way, #00 is a Lexington legend whose first go-around in Kentucky blue was as memorable as anyone’s could be. The “Oweh, Oweh, Oweh” chants will go on regardless.

Men's Basketball

Four Star Forward Visiting Kentucky Amidst Recruitment Rumors

Mark Pope is looking to close out a strong sophomore effort in the transfer portal, and this freshman guard may be the final piece.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2025

Lane Mills

Four star guard Braydon Hawthorne is on a visit to Kentucky.

Braydon Hawthorne | WVU Athletics

As the transfer portal trucks on (and the NCAA races to find ways to regulate it), Mark Pope is looking to tie a bow on his already highly-ranked 2025-26′ roster. The latest potential addition becomes in the form of a freshman who, after pulling his commitment from West Virginia, will be on an official visit to Kentucky today, Wednesday, April 16.

Braydon Hawthorne, the 6’8″ forward at hand, is a lengthy, scoring wing with high upside on the offensive end. His 7’3″ wingspan opens opportunities for development on the defensive end, too – he’s an investment opportunity of the highest order. On3 currently has him at 48th on their ranking of 2025 recruits.

In addition to Kentucky and West Virginia (where Hawthorne is from), schools such as Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Marquette, Dayton, Old Dominion, Mount St. Mary’s, and more have thrown their hats into the ring, although the general consensus seems to be that Kentucky has the strongest pull/interest in the prospect for the time being.

Whether or not that actually means he’ll be in blue and white is unfortunately unsure – as that’s how the transfer portal operates – but an in-person visit is a good indicator of mutual interest. Plus, with Kentucky “losing out” on Lamar Wilkerson, who committed to Indiana, a scoring spot in the back court remains open… and Hawthorne is a compelling candidate to fill it.

While Wildcats fans wait patiently for a potential commitment, all eyes are on Coach Cody Fueger’s X account for a trademark “boom” post.

Men's Basketball

Brandon Garrison Announces Return To Kentucky For The 2025-26 Season

Published

6 days ago

April 12, 2025

Kai McClelland

Chet White | UK Athletics

Brandon Garrison isn’t going anywhere.

The 6-foot-10 forward will be returning to the Kentucky Wildcats for his junior season in the 2025-26 campaign.

Garrison took to social media first, posting a story on his personal Instagram that showed a simple graphic reading the words “I’m back.”

Brandon Garrison announces via his Instagram story that he will be returning to Kentucky for the 2025-26 season.#BBN #KentuckyWildcats #BrandonGarrison pic.twitter.com/AkDzaU4GAd— KY Insider (@KyInsider) April 12, 2025

Speculation and rumors have swirled around the Oklahoma native all offseason, and with the addition of Andrija Jelavic, Big Blue Nation worried that Garrison would be hitting the portal sooner than later.

Now, with his returning announcement public, Garrison will look to assert himself in the offseason as a dominant force that deserves the starting role.

Last season, he backed up Amari Williams, coming off of the bench and averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in just 17.3 minutes a night.

It’s unclear if he’s guaranteed anything in regards to a starting spot. However, having played a year already in Mark Pope’s system, Garrison may get a nod for the role over one of the transfer pickups.

Pope and the coaching staff have been publicly confident in the development of “BG” and see him as a vocal leader on and off the court.

With a full offseason ahead where he’ll be harnessing his skill set and bettering his game in any way possible, Kentucky fans will be glad that Garrison chose to stick around another year.